We Interrupt This Beautiful Sunday Morning...

Glenn links to Ann Althouse, who is wondering about the link between "gun violence" and mental health. Apparently mental health advocates are worried about the possible stigmatization of the mentally ill and are making claims such as this:

"But it can’t be that we turn our attention just to mental health issues related to gun violence because people suffering from mental illness make up a very small percentage of the perpetrators of gun violence."....

Ahh, but what is "gun violence"? Well, when gun control advocates are dramatizing their case they cite 30,000 deaths per year (E.g., NY Times editorial, the Atlantic, the Violence Policy Center, Media Matters).

That figure is composed of roughly 19,000 suicides and 11,000 homicides. One might imagine that a notable proportion of the suicide victims qualify as mentally ill. But for some reason, when the subject is mental health, "gun violence" seems to mean exclusively homicides, at least at the Times, and in the piece linked above.

Yet more evidence that I will never have the mental acuity or agility to make it as a lib.

MORE QUESTIONS I CAN'T ANSWER: Per the "might imagine" link above comes this non-surprise:

Mental illness is a major risk factor for suicide. The World Health Organization estimates that 90 percent of all suicide victims have some kind of mental health condition--often depression or substance abuse.

But what does that mean from a policy perspective in Prozac Nation? If I were giving advice to someone with a history of depression (or a drinking problem) I would strongly discourage them from keeping a gun in the house (that is knowing nothing whatsover about the external dangers they might face in their specific neighborhood or life). However I am full of good advice yet far too humble to think my good advice should be turned into law.

MORE: Prof. Althouse has already taken aim at the suicide/homicide statistics.

Comments

[peter]

That's really what it is all about, Tom, humility. And libs lack it, unfortunately, so they morph into fascists with every little whim that pops into their skulls.

[marlene]

It certainly is a beautiful Sunday morning! Sunny,clear and very white!
Speaking of guns,despite the blizzard,about 300 people attended a gun show in Lewiston yesterday.

[jimmyk]

"It certainly is a beautiful Sunday morning! Sunny,clear and very white!"

Yes, but something is missing: No Clarice's Pieces? :(

[Threadkiller]

From the manifesto:

All the firearms utilized in my activities are registered to me and were legally purchased at gun stores and private party transfers. All concealable weapons (pistols) were also legally register in my name at police stations or FFL’s. Unfortunately, are you aware that I obtained class III weapons (suppressors) without a background check thru NICS or DROS completely LEGALLY several times? I was able to use a trust account that I created on quicken will maker and a $10 notary charge at a mailbox etc. to obtain them legally. Granted, I am not a felon, nor have a DV misdemeanor conviction or active TRO against me on a NCIC file. I can buy any firearm I want, but should I be able to purchase these class III weapons (SBR’s, and suppressors) without a background check and just a $10 notary signature on a quicken will maker program?

I can only assume that this mentally ill ex-cop learned how to buy "Class III" items from his fellow officers.

I propose a bill that makes all law enforcement officers, both current and "ex", turn in a list of all weapons and accessories that they possess. This would be in keeping with the reactionary style of legislation we usually see when one nutcase goes off the deep end.

The Second Amendment will never see as good a defense than the one given by the "Two Americas" lawyers working for the law enforcement unions.

[AliceH]

Is there something other than "ooh, I don't know nothin' but that sounds scary" behind the restrictions and bans on suppressors?

I'm a total newbie on the subject, but, by reducing recoil and minimizing potential hearing loss, a suppressor strikes me as something that increases firearm safety.

Am I missing something?

[narciso]

No, you're not, Alice. these are functional elements, not ornaments but these idiots can't tell the difference,

[Barry Dauphin]

Progressive simply accept as fact that we can legislate away every aspect of life deemed undesirable and have never heard of the concept of unintended consequences.

[clarice]

Sweet,Jimmyk..None next week either. Today is the lunar New Year in Saigon--ho Chi Minh city being a construct no one even here seems to pay attention to--and I took a boat ride up the Mekong and one of its canals--the same canal JFK made up all that shit about.
I think every time I come to Southeast Asia that the germ theory of disease must be wrong--these people eat sleep, bathe in fetid water full of garbage and human waste, eat ducks and fish,snakes and rats that live in these waters and are perfectly healthy. Go figure.

[Walter]

"90 percent of all suicide victims have some kind of mental health condition"

The rest of them were completely sane.

Moreso than the rest of us, I suppose.

[AliceH]

--these people eat sleep, bathe in fetid water full of garbage and human waste, eat ducks and fish,snakes and rats that live in these waters and are perfectly healthy.--

I submit that "not dead yet" is likely to be a more accurate assessment than "perfectly healthy". :)

[narciso]

Lol, I really enjoyed that Vietnamese cuisine, clarice,the last time I was in Washington, so how do you keep it from being 'too fresh'

[jimmyk]

Clarice, enjoy your much-deserved vacation.

Meanwhile, speaking of Althouse, she defends the CNN asteroids idiot by saying that she was only "asking a question." As if there is no such thing as a really stupid question.

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2013/02/if-youre-going-to-mock-someone-for.html

[clarice]

I was assured the rats are coonut rats and really yummy. Also, didja know? After they spin the silk from the cocoons, the silk workers eat the silk worms..they claim it's great for the complexion.

Niters. Stay well.

[narciso]

I pointed out on Althouse's thread, the Joyce foundation influence,

[Walter]

Enjoy your trip, Clarice!

[Sue]

I wouldn't make a very good world traveler. I almost puked reading about rats and worms. ::shudder::

[AliceH]

I'm with you, Sue!

I confess, my inner geek was trying to decide whether the descriptions were more like Ferengi tube grubs, or Klingon gagh.

[narciso]

Well maybe just fried Tauntaun, Alice,

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--Is there something other than "ooh, I don't know nothin' but that sounds scary" behind the restrictions and bans on suppressors?--

No. Suppressors do very little for most caliber weapons [even 22 long rifle] because the bullet itself is supersonic and is quite loud all by itself.
They're only very effective on subsonic rounds like 22 shorts.
I know this from personal experience making many illegal suppressors as a youth.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--people suffering from mental illness make up a very small percentage of the perpetrators of gun violence--

I have seen estimates that the majority of violent felons suffer from personality disorders, most commonly 'anti-social pd' but also including others like borderline [more suicidal] narcissistic or even psychopathy.
I imagine psychoses and non pd mental illnesses like clinical depression, schizophrenia and bi polar do make up a small number of crimes against others but are substantially represented among suicides.

[matt]

Wait till Thailand. Crunchy fried bugs for everyone! They serve them like popcorn.

As to cops and guns in most jurisdictions, police and law enforcement are allowed to buy pretty much what they want, including the automatic versions of the black rifles Feinstein wants to ban. Some may have internal bans, but there are what are called law enforcement dealers who specialize in arming both police forces and individual officers.

As a cop, Commandante Moonbat would have been able to buy to his heart's content. Are the suppressors flash suppressors or noise suppressors (silencers)? Flash suppressors are no big deal. Silencers seem to be more for assassination and murder for hire applications.This guy wants to make a lot of noise, it seems.

BTW there was a second assault by cop in Torrance. They rammed the poor guy's truck and riddled it with bullets. Luckily he got away with whiplash. The cops are not building trust in the communities lately.

[centralcal]

I didn't much make it past the fetid water full of garbage and human waste.

Weak stomach, I guess.

[narciso]

He seems to have taken Denzel's character in Training Day, as a role model

http://allergic2bull.blogspot.com/2013/02/dorner-v-lapd-evidence-so-far.html

[Captain Hate]

Speaking of fetid water full of garbage and human waste, FNS had Pelosi Galore and McRINO on; much unintentional hilarity followed.

On the good side, Tom Cotton was on their panel. I really like this guy plus there's the chance that some intelligence could permeate from him to Juan Williams.

[AliceH]

LaRue Tactical Issues New Sales Policy for State and Local Agencies snip:

Effective today, in an effort to see that no legal mistakes are made by LaRue Tactical and/or its employees, we will apply all current State and Local Laws (as applied to civilians) to state and local law enforcement / government agencies. In other words, LaRue Tactical will limit all sales to what law-abiding citizens residing in their districts can purchase or possess.

[narciso]

Gack, I was following it on Ace's thread, the Dems have their script, and Duke and Duke, seems to be trying to cheat off it.

[Captain Hate]

Yes I noticed you there under one of your noms de cyberplume

[Threadkiller]

"I really like this guy plus there's the chance that some intelligence could permeate from him to Juan Williams."

That is as likely to happen as me not having a Bloody Mary this morning.

[narciso]

Now ex felons writing strategy papers, that's something else altogether;

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/02/10/Democrats-Slam-Carson-for-Prayer-Breakfast-Speech-Not-Appropriate-Says-Schakowsky

[narciso]

A 'Norma Desmond' sighting on ABC, touting Rubio's endorsement of Tupac and Biggie, there's a reason I compare her to that deluded
character.

[Porchlight]

I think every time I come to Southeast Asia that the germ theory of disease must be wrong--these people eat sleep, bathe in fetid water full of garbage and human waste, eat ducks and fish,snakes and rats that live in these waters and are perfectly healthy. Go figure.

It makes perfect sense. All humans lived in comparative filth not that long ago. Autoimmune systems develop according to the environment and "learn" to fight off what germs are present. If one lives in a sterile environment, which is increasingly the case in the West, then all germs can potentially become dangerous.

[Captain Hate]

Norma is obviously a "reasonable Republican whom they can work with".

[Old Lurker]

Remind me to warn Clarice that we refuse to come to dinner until she rids her brain of all these new menu ideas.

I would have said hamburgers and fries but that was before the UK started to make them from horsemeat.

Perhaps we can stop by Clarice's for some...popcorn (assuming I see it popped?)?

[Threadkiller]

As far as I am concerned Carson has set the standard for what can be said about the President and his policies. If Rubio's response to the State of the Groin is any less than that benchmark my disappointment in the GOP will have topped its previous high.

[narciso]

LOL, I hadn't thought of that, I though Pho, and quail is reasonably safe,

Signs of intelligent life out there?

http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2013/02/hagel-and-brennan-nominations-on-hold.html

[Threadkiller]

Rove is on Fox news right now doing his best impression of Ed 209 in the stairwell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRDl5_-wJ0Y

[Jane - Mock the Media!]

I heard some Ohio democrat congresswoman say "republicans need to grow up" a little while ago.

Amazing.

[Beasts of England]

'90% of suicide victims have a mental health condition.' Really?

[Captain Hate]

I heard some Ohio democrat congresswoman say "republicans need to grow up" a little while ago.

Amazing.

I think that was my dimwitted Marcia Fudge. Give her a little time; she'll come up with something even dumber.

[Captain Hate]

'90% of suicide victims have a mental health condition.' Really?

A higher than average suicide rate used to define a group being "mentally ill" until they decided they didn't want to call the homos that and dropped it.

[maryrose]

Marcia Fudge was the heir to the Stephanie Tubbs Jones seat. Another moderate dem considered a primary run and was officially shut down finally and chastised by the dem party. I believe she ran almost unopposed. Louis Stokes used to have a stanglehold on a seat like this.

[Captain Hate]

Tubbs Jones, when she was a prosecutor, sat on data provided by the state police that either Louis or Carl Stokes's daughter had been shaking city merchants down for lottery tickets. *Shocking* that Tubbs Jones was subsequently Louis Stokes's designated heir for his Congressional seat when he retired.

[Beasts of England]

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

[narciso]

The notion, that she was once a prosecutor, would have seemed odd, for me, six years ago,

[Jim Eagle]

'90% of suicide victims have a mental health condition.' Really?

And 100% of all putts that are short don't go in.

Also 100% of all 3 pointers not taken don't go in either.

BTW, to all dog lovers in JOM-land, don't forget Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show starts Monday the 11th and you can catch the Monday judging on CNBC from 8 to 11pm. On Tuesday it is back on USA-TV from 8 to 11 including the best in show. The Beagles are on Monday so you know where we will be.

[narciso]

Along the same lines, is Leonard Pinth Garnell, telling us, the GOP has to 'cut out the carnival of crazy' you see why my fishwrap isn't even good for it's intended purpose.

[Captain Hate]

The notion, that she was once a prosecutor, would have seemed odd, for me, six years ago,

Being a Cuyahoga County prosecutor has always been a highly politicized job; I used to ride a bus with a guy who worked in the office and would just shake his head at what went on there. Everybody knew that fat greaseball Dimora was on the take at the county commission but it took the feds to take that clown down.

[maryrose]

Dimora is responsible for the revitalization of the Republican Party in Ohio. His corruption went all the way up the ladder in Cuyahoga County and happened under Twitchy{Strickland's} watch. The local fishwrap was brutal and 2010 became a banner year for repubs.

[maryrose]

We should start a Where Are They Now" segment for all those reps stupid enough to vote for Obamacare. Kucinich got a ride from Bammy on Air Force One and still lost his seat.Stupak proved how stupid he was and was hounded out of office. Nelson got his kickback rescinded and a Republican now holds that seat.The CBO comes out every other day shouting about how expensive this turkey is, yet still the dems defend it.

[narciso]

A severance and a sales tax increase, that can't be right;

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2013/02/is_the_tea_party_over_for_gov.html#incart_river_default#incart_special-report

[narciso]

They keep insisting, it's 'just a fleshwound' while they struggle to keep their innards in,

[Mark Folkestad]

The idiot Democrat congresswoman from Ohio on Fox this morning was Marcy Kaptur, not Marcia Fudge. Perhaps that distinction is of little note.

[maryrose]

Mark
First,I love the history of your name and think it is awesome.
Second: This is the idiot{Kaptur} that beat Kucinich. She's the Toledo area person and has been there forever. Unfortunately Toledo tends to vote for democrats.

[Captain Hate]

Sorry I mistook Fudge, who has come up with gems like this http://ethicsalarms.com/2012/11/21/unethical-quote-of-the-month-rep-marcia-fudge-d-oh/ with Kaptur. Marcy should serve as a lesson on how to beat donks like Kucinich by ridiculing his horrible voting record; if the party of stoopid is capable of learning things.

[narciso]

Well "Our Ann' was prescient about this;

http://weaselzippers.us/2013/02/10/police-using-drones-to-hunt-for-accused-cop-killer/

[narciso]

Yikes, leave it to 'Pinnette' to miss the point entirely.

[Mark Folkestad]

Thanks, maryrose, for your comment on the history of my name. Most people have surnames that have been connected with their lineage for a far shorter time, so that appeals to me as an amateur historian and a former professional genealogist. I love being able to connect with history through my root-seeking. Thanks to the discovery that my mystery ancestor Johan Garmann was the highly-favored bastard son of Frederik II of Denmark and Norway, so much of what I learned at the university, and in personal reading, has taken on new meaning. However, I will always remain aware that I also literally descend from the village idiot!

[daddy]

Re: The fetid water full of garbage and waste etc

I have spent years in the Philippines, and their sanitation is abysmal to non-existant. After a while you take it for granted and don't notice it, unless a strong whiff of something awful occasionally hits your nostrils.

But then I had an early trip to Bombay (Mumbai), with a tour with a local pal showing me the indescribable filth and poverty, and upon returning from Mumbai to Subic Bay Philippines, the place suddenly struck me as if it was as gorgeous as Tahiti or San Trope.

I always remembered how things like that are partially products of comparison and familiarity. Made me laugh about a decade back when an older sister took her first Mexican vacation with her daughters to Cancun, and she complained that it was awful because of "the squalor." Ha! Sis don't know beans about "squalor."

I also have to say that when comparing our layovers in Singapore and Penang Malaysia, I much prefer Malaysia. Singapore over the years has grown so squeaky clean and antiseptic, that down on the Clarke Key now you feel as if you're in some massive plastic McDonalds, and the vibrant, exciting street life that used to rule in Satay Alley prior is now completely gone.

But in Penang the sanitation police haven't yet destroyed the old bamboo huts and cats and chickens and dogs running around the beachfront food courts, so the whole place still feels alive and exciting, and what's a little dysentery 'mongst friends anyhow.

[Jim Eagle]

daddy,

Where do stay in Penang? The Hyatt?

[daddy]

Jack we stay in The Park Royal Hotel at Batu Ferenggi, on the northwest tip of the island, about an hour taxi ride from the airport. We also stay and have stayed at 1 or 2 others over the years but this remains my favorite.

[Jim Eagle]

daddy,

I have only stayed at the Hyatt when I lived in Indonesia and Singapore. Ever taken the train from Sing to Butterworth?

[daddy]

Never have JiB,

Never enough time on deck unfortunately to do fun long jaunts.

I imagine you have quite a few stories about fetid water full of garbage and waste, etc yourself.

[Jim Eagle]

Balikpapan means under a log. Enough said about fetid water and garbage. But it had a Swiss Hotel and French chef. A 3rd world miracle:)

[Kirk Parker]

Ignaz,

Plenty of subsonic .45ACP rounds, aren't there?

[VekTorBK]

'90% of suicide victims have a mental health condition.' Really?

Yes, really. That condition is called 'nonexistent', and it's actually 100%.

Perhaps they intended the past tense rather than the present.