7įurthermore, evidence indicates no significant connection between mental illness and mass shootings: Moreover, countries with strong gun oversight experience significantly less gun violence. 6 While other countries have similar levels of mental illness, none have the levels of mass shootings that the United States does. An estimated 1 in 5 Americans live with a diagnosed mental illness. 5įact: While every country is home to people living with mental illness, the United States is the only country in the world that experiences mass shootings daily. … Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge.” 4 This claim runs directly counter to a body of evidence-based research that finds people living with mental illness are far more likely to become victims of violence than perpetrators.
Greg Abbott (R), when he spoke on the deadly mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde: “e as a society need to do a better job with mental health. This common misconception was echoed most recently by Texas Gov. Despite many conservative politicians’ and the NRA’s frequent invocation of mental illness, little evidence exists to suggest that mental illness is to blame for U.S. Myth: Mass shootings are caused by mental illness. Mental illness is not a major factor in mass shootings