Columnist Points to Where 'Gun Violence' Focus Needs to Be

Over my years here at Bearing Arms, one thing I've constantly wanted to see is more conversation about the causes of violent behavior and how we can address it. After all, if we cut it out at the source, there's no violent crime to be concerned with. Alright, there would be much, much less violent crime, because you're never going to make it all go away. Still, addressing the roots of violence should be one of our biggest priorities as a society, and instead, all we get is gun control rhetoric from anti-gun politicians and their media allies.

But it is nice to find out I'm not alone in this, as a columnist in Minnesota, Kasey Wolters, is beating a similar drum.

So how do we truly discourage gun violence? We focus on the people, not the weapon. We start by increasing access to mental health support, enforcing tougher penalties for violent crimes and ensuring judges uphold existing laws.

Many shooters are later found to have unresolved mental health struggles that went unnoticed or untreated. Research has shown that many mass shooters had untreated or undiagnosed mental health conditions before committing their crimes. A 2022 psychiatric study of U.S. mass shooters found that 87.5% had been misdiagnosed, improperly treated or had untreated mental illnesses prior to their attacks. Researchers identified conditions including severe depression, schizophrenia, PTSD and personality disorders.

At the same time, Minnesota continues to face concerns about repeat violent offenders receiving reduced sentences through plea agreements or sentencing departures from state guidelines. A 2024 firearm offender study found that more than half of firearm-related cases involved reduced charges through plea negotiations, which significantly lowered expected sentences. Critics argue that lighter sentencing and reduced penalties fail to deter repeat criminal behavior and weaken accountability.

If Democrats truly want to protect children and address gun violence, we need serious investment in mental health support, stronger accountability for violent offenders and consistent enforcement of the laws already on the books.

Focusing on mental health resources will do a lot of good, especially as I learn more about the criminal mind and how such people view the world. A trained mental health professional can help them shift their mindset and get away from this idea that the law isn't a thing to be concerned about. It can accomplish a great deal of good, and not just for mass killers.

But mass killers are a big problem, and even if we only see a couple of them in a given year, that's still a couple too many for anyone's comfort. Many of those killers had mental illness diagnoses and were being treated for relatively minor mental health issues, but we also find that many of them may have had more profound issues that didn't get diagnosed. Hopefully, that's something we can find and address.

Accountability, on the other hand, is a little different. Longer prison sentences don't serve as a deterrent, in part because criminals have no fear of being caught. They're not worried about prison because they all think they're master criminals and too smart for the cops, even after a dozen arrests.

What it does, though, is remove these people from society for a longer period of time, and possibly get them in a position where they can mature their mindsets away from the typically criminal psychology and recognize there's a better way to live.

It's not enough, though. We need a lot more research into why people become criminals, and not just easy, throw-away crap like economics or racism or whatever other things get tossed around to not just cover up for our lack of knowledge, but also to get leveraged for whatever social programs someone wants taxpayers to fund.

Regardless, the problem isn't about guns. It's about people. 

A good person can be trusted with a nuclear weapon, which will never get used. A violent person can't be trusted with a rock.

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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