A friend in law enforcement talks about his 28 hour shift. Oh, the day seemed very routine: transport a jail guest to a state mental health facility. That guest and the deputies agreed the gentleman needed special help.
After a long drive to the facility, well, despite assurances, there was no room at the inn. My friend, his partner and the guest made inquiries and hit the road for another facility on the other side of the state.
Same result.
More inquiries and then a new destination. That facility had an opening – after a current resident was processed out. So, the three guys had several hours to talk while waiting for the guest to get in that door.
Several years ago, during a legislative hearing in Jefferson City, I heard a Bootheel police chief lament the lack of space in state facilities for mentally ill prisoners. Years before, at Department of Mental Health budget hearings, I heard state bureaucrats explain how they squeezed every penny, followed by legislators saying ‘we wish we had more money to give you.’ For more than a generation Missouri has dangerously underfunded mental health services.
The situation remains just as dire in the private sector. For example, I have a cousin who is a well regarded therapist. The issue with her practice isn’t finding people who need therapy – they’re everywhere – it’s finding money to pay for that therapy. (As a divorced mom of twins she can’t treat everyone pro bono.)
In Florida the school shooter had multiple encounters with law enforcement, yet, never got sent to a mental health facility. The wife of the couple which took him in, after his mom died, told CNN on Tuesday afternoon that she and the young man knew he needed help. In fact, she talked to a therapist about it, but, ‘we were still working out the insurance.’
Let’s make a reasonable guess that getting mental health services in Florida is about as hard as getting them in Missouri.
Last week I heard Senator Roy Blunt (R – MO) on KMOXradio decrying the mental health failure which allowed that Florida massacre. That’s a common response by Blunt. From January 2013…
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) says President Barack Obama and Congress should focus on mental health problems when considering gun-control legislation.
Despite the fact that Connecticut had some of the toughest gun restrictions in the country, Blunt told “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace the Newtown shooter was still able to get a weapon but said this was a “moment we can do something about mental health.”
https://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-now/2013/01/blunt-focus-on-mental-health-in-gun-talks-154682
To his credit, Blunt did support more mental health spending in January 2016, however…
But his bill also includes contentious provisions that would make it easier for mentally ill individuals to have their records removed from the federal background check system, which gun sellers use to determine whether someone is legally allowed to buy a firearm. Under current law, individuals are barred from buying a gun if they have been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric institution or if a court has deemed them mentally incompetent.
Of course, during his career in Jefferson City and Washington, Roy Blunt has championed smaller government and personal responsibility. He voted against the Affordable Care Act every chance he got.
Remember, a key point of “Obamacare” was “mental health parity,” meaning everyone’s insurance would cover therapy and access to proper care. We never got that. In fact, in Missouri it will soon be possible to buy “health insurance” which does not cover mental health services, prescription drugs, obstetrics and pregnancy services, any pre-existing conditions and a long list of other needs. [House Bill 1685 by Justin Hill, R – Lake St. Louis, passed by the House and now in the Senate https://www.house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB1685&year=2018&code=R ]
So, when Roy Blunt claims “the answer” is mental health services and not gun control, he’s obviously a hypocrite.
If Blunt and other Republicans really felt that way they would have responded to the previous mass shootings by dramatically increasing support for mental health services and requiring mental health parity!
Yes, better access to mental health services (and less stigma attached to seeking assistance) can, in time, reduce the number of horrible days. That improvement requires money and public commitment the Republican majority has refused to make.
Not mentioned in the news articles or, of course, by KMOX: Roy Blunt’s son, former governor Matt Blunt, is a member of the NRA board of directors (along with Grover Norquist, Oliver North, Ted “Potty Pants” Nugent, Tom Selleck and a score more [ https://www.guidestar.org/profile/53-0116130 ]. Why, Roy Blunt feels so strongly about the NRA that he spends some of his campaign contributions on his membership! [ http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article200403364.html ]
Now, the Republican majority has long kissed NRA butt in return for tens of millions in bribes contributions, as well as fear of losing the organization’s “A” ratings. Those five million claimed NRA members count for more than the other 307 million of us.
Perhaps things will change. When 67% of Americans support banning assault weapons [ https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2521 ] and even NRA members support background checks on all transfers there must be hope. After all, Roy Blunt and his GOP friends likes winning elections – probably more than they enjoy being friends to the NRA.
In my first part of Harm Reduction I talked about “two handed” magazine changes. A friend pointed out that is normally takes two hands to change a pistol or rifle clip. (For an exception, watch Woody Harrelson in the amusement park souvenir stand near the end of Zombieland.) What I was getting at was changes to the operation to require the person holding the gun to take it off target and out of action as part of the magazine replacement.
Also, the February 22, 2018 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contains a circular for Academy Sports. Note that on page 12a of the ad you can get a new “Gen5” Glock pistol and a 33 round clip for less than $600 (before tax). Or, you can get the lady in your life a Glock with a fashionable Robin’s Egg Blue frame for just $449.99.
Submitted by Glenn Koenen, WCD Member