LETTER: Helping those with mental health problems

I read with dismay the recent article about the senseless killing on a train in North Carolina. A random victim and an armed and suddenly violent perpetrator. People scattering and screaming. Then, after an arrest, we are told about the perp’s mental illness, family concerns and cries for help, confinements and previous brushes with the law. It makes me change my stance on gun control.

But wait. This perp used a pocket knife. I challenge those Democrats in Washington who have so foolishly been focusing only on gun control to expand their hew and cry to include paring knives, steak knives, hunting knives and — the most terrifying of all — the Swiss Army knife. Or perhaps you should look at the real problem: mental health in America.

With all the privacy laws and regulations, we have made it virtually impossible to shine a light on those from whom we need to be protected. Families seek help for loved ones in distress. Facilities hand out a diagnosis, a pill and shove them out the door. Lawyers say people aren’t responsible because they have a mental illness. Read any article about a heinous crime, and you will likely find a mention of the perp’s mental health. But no one wants to address this because we might infringe on someone’s rights. What about the victim’s right to continue living? Guess it’s just their dumb luck to be around a mentally ill person who decides to go berserk.