Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Controlling the mentally ill

Tim Dees, the editor-in-chief of Officer.com has a sensible piece on the response to the Virginia Tech massacre. No, not involving guns--instead, he addresses the calls for tighter controls on people considered to have mental health problems.

We could put into place a mechanism where people who were acting angry, alienated, or erratic would be held for a thorough psychological workup and screening, but, tell me, would you want to live in a world like that? I think most of us would wind up institutionalized, sooner or later.

Fundamentally, I agree with Dees that there are no easy fixes that will ensure that another Virginia Tech shooting never takes place. The chance that somebody will blow a fuse and attack others can't be addressed by policy; it's a matter for personal preparation.

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