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Columnist: Stop using mental illness as scapegoat in mass shootings

It is too simple to just point at mental health.

According to a statement by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Texas, the overwhelming majority of people with mental illness are not violent. In fact, people with mental illness are more likely to be the victims of violence, rather than the perpetrators. Less than 10 percent of shootings nationwide involved people with mental illness. When we rush to make a false correlation between mental illness and mass shootings, we’re actually keeping people from seeking much needed services and perpetuating stigma.