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"Gun Cartoons and Gun Violence Bibliography"
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CAPLAN-BRICKER: Are guns a public-health issue? Let's count the ways. "Is calling guns a public health issue a political statement? That's become the underlying issue in the nomination of the White House's pick for surgeon general, Vivek Murthy. In 2012, Murthy sent out a tweet: "Tired of politicians playing politics w/ guns, putting lives at risk b/c they're scared of NRA. Guns are a health care issue." The NRA got Senators to hurl the words back at him during a confirmation hearing, and seems to have convinced not just Republicans but some Democrats to vote against him. Now nobody is talking about bringing his nomination to the floor. Let's leave aside the issue of whether a Tweet should be the grounds for an opposition campaign, and of whether Murthy, best known for running an advocacy organization to support Obamacare's launch, is the most qualified person for the job. If the question at hand is whether it's partisan to believe that gun violence should be under the purview of the nation's top doctor, it seems the answer is no." Nora Caplan-Bricker in The New Republic.
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"Gun Cartoons and Gun Violence Bibliography"
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SMITH: Don't be so quick to blame PTSD. "The rush to erroneously blame PTSD for violent veterans has been noted. But available research and increased awareness hasn't stopped the speculation....None of this is to say that there isn't reason to be concerned for the mental health of veterans. Lopez was reportedly suffering from anxiety and depression and undergoing treatment for mental illness. As the RAND study shows, my community is certainly at an increased risk for mental illness. Every day, 22 Americans who served in uniform take their own lives. Veterans with PTSD are more prone to alcoholism. Drug abuse is also more common in our community. While errant reports portray veterans as volatile community risks, my comrades are far more likely to hurt ourselves than anyone else."Richard Allen Smith in Time Magazine.
ROBBERSON: The deadly mixture of mental illness and guns. "While the nation's debate over gun laws will no doubt be renewed, sensible people on all sides of this issue can agree that better mechanisms must be in place to prevent mentally ill people from gaining access to guns. In the days to come, questions will be asked: How did Lopez get ahold of his semiautomatic pistol? Much as this might seem like a military-related issue, it's really not. It doesn't appear to have anything to do with Afghanistan or Iraq, Muslims or Christians, waterboarding or military injustices around the world. It's not even really about soldiers versus civilians. It's simply about the rules that govern firearms and who has access to them. If we continue to sell guns in a reckless way that allows them to fall into the hands of people who, we all can agree, shouldn't have access to them, then we will be revisiting these tragedies again and again in the future." Tod Robberson in the Dallas Morning News.
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