No I do not. I used to own 4 various guns. But these were used for hunting in the deserts and hills of Nevada. I do not have problems with citizens with guns for self-defense. Not sure why though say a .50 caliber sniper rifle should be in the hands of anyone but a SWAT sniper. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett_M82

It's not so much stigmatization of these mental illnesses, but political correctness and misinterpretation of "privacy laws" gone amuck. This was proven with the Virginia Tech killer, and the Ft. Hood killer (I mean "Workplace Violence Doctor"). Countless PhD's at the university, and M.D.'s at teaching-hospital PSYCHIATRY department where Hassan was "teaching" residents knew and warned about these two killers' prior talk and even rants about such macabre events they were savoring in advance.

And here is a 3rd example, about the Tuscon killer, where people knew but apparently did not want to "stigmatize" or "judge" the person:

From February to September 2010, while a student at Pima Community College, Loughner had five contacts with college police for classroom and library disruptions. On September 29, 2010, college police also discovered a YouTube video shot by Loughner, in which his spoken commentary stated that the college was illegal according to the United States Constitution. He described his school as "one of the biggest scams in America". The video led to Loughner being suspended from the school.

The college told Loughner that if he wanted to come back to school, he needed to resolve his code of conduct violations and obtain a mental health clearance (indicating, in the opinion of a mental health professional, that his presence did not constitute a danger to himself or others). On October 4, Loughner and his parents met with campus administrators and Loughner indicated he would withdraw from the college. During Loughner's time at Pima, a teacher and a classmate both said they thought he might commit a school shooting.

Some gun nuts do go nuts. Unfortunately. :grumpy:

LOL......"Gun Nuts" certainly does "Stigmatize" them, doesn't it?

The term "gun nuts" has different connotations that the usual use of the word "nut" to describe someone with a mental illness.

I also still think that if libraries had more materials quickly accessible about mental health resources through their web-sites, there would be less ignorance about people with mental illnesses.

As in the movie and books The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, a label of mental illness can you be used as a weapon to silence people who are whistleblowers, critics, troublemakers, and/or victims of someone with powers over them. Part of the ability to use mental illness as a weapon is that so many people still do not understand various mental illnesses.

Some people are cuckoo for cocoa puffs too but not all gun owners are "gun nuts".

One person's "gun nut" is another person's patriot.

the mean message could not be delivered with more sensible terms like gun enthusiasts or gun collectors.

We gun enthusiasts object to the uninformed categorizing of gun owners.

The guy who did the shooting is not a gun nut he is a killer. Not alleged...he killed folks. He would have done something destructive without a gun. Where do you categorize his use of a tear gas bomb. Was he a gas nut as well?

What do you call the suicide bombers? A bomb nut? A vest nut? Of course not they are killers. Just like the guy in CO.

Remember far too many of you approve of the garbage that is being televised and the movies of today. Far too many are way too permissive and not prepared to take steps to bring back core values that exclude detailed and explicit methods of killing a person....a group of people...how to make a bomb....how to report the parents for daring to discipline a child of today.

Guns as usual are not the issue....but it certainly is ALWAYS, ALWAYS presented as though they were.

Our permissive society has contributed to this individuals means to murder far more than the gun!!

btk

I do not see the permissiveness of society having all that much to do with gun violence. This permissiveness usually brings more STDs than acts of violence. Some of these acts are family violence. Domestic violence has been occurring without abatement for centuries in the US. Much of this was done when people were a lot more Puritan in their beliefs and behaviors.

The glamorizing of violence by Hollywood and elsewhere certainly contribute though to these shooters taking up firearms and shooting various people for whatever motivation.

I think you are basically right. Too many violent games, movies etc. could cause it but **** poor parenting might be the root cause.

^^^^^^^^This post bears repeating.

BTW, gun nuts is an inflammatory term, but I think many people (not all for sure) who use the term are referring to the inflexible NRA. I come from a farming, hunting, outdoor family and I own several guns as do all my relatives, but most of us would agree that assault weapons and guns not uselful or necessary in hunting or defending oneself should be controlled or severely limited in access, and the gun show exception should be eliminated.

The big reason the Japanese did not want to invade this country in WWII was because they knew about the well armed American citizens.

:clap2::clap2::clap2:

Hmmmm, maybe that and the lack of logistics.

Oh, but many people DO understand mental illnesses....like the Virginia Tech teacher whose students would not come to class anymore b/c the would-be shooter scared them so much with his bizarre, deathly talk, and like the other attending and resident Medical Doctors at Walter Reed Army Hospital where Hasan was "teaching" psychiatry resident MD's, and presenting at grand rounds with attending psychiatrists.

But their repeated warnings were quietly shut down for fear of claims/outcry of "ethnic discrimination", "racist", or other "breech of privacy" claims naive do-gooders make in order to not "judge" or "stigmatize" such a threatening and sick-minded person.