Actually....

In the article, Actually, there is a clear link between mass shootings and mental illness by Grant Duwe and Michael Rocque, information is given to suggest exactly what the title states; there is a clear and concise connection between mass shootings and higher rates of mental illness. With gun debates being the most discussed topic of this week (or possibly of the decade depending on who you ask) it was not hard to find articles stating all kinds of opinions on the topic.

The intended audience of this article, coming from the Los Angeles Times, isn't initially clear, but it could be said that the intended audience is every American who is chiming into the newly sparked gun debates and those who may not be publicly sharing their opinions but who are aggregating data to be able to do so with a basis of education. 

With such a large potential audience, the authors used empirical data to make the argument that the perpetrators of mass shootings have higher rates of serious mental issues. The argument is a heated one right now, with politicians at the highest level saying that mass shootings, more specifically the one that occurred last week at a Florida high school, are not "gun issues", but "mental health issues". This article does a good job of explaining how such a tragedy can, and most often, is an issue of BOTH. 

Being the hot-button issue it is, I believe the authors approached the subject in the best way that it can be addressed, with cited studies that contain empirical data to back up the main argument that the heighten issue of mass shootings is both a gun problem and a mental health problem. There are several studies cited throughout the article, and I believe the authors did not rely on a pathos approach to gun violence, as so many want to do in the wake of a tragedy, nor did they rely on facts alone, being careful to include hypothesis as to why the data looks the way it does. 

The conclusion that the authors came to, and convinced me is a beneficial approach to this issue that is currently splitting the country more than it already is, is that "we need to invest in research to develop evidence-based solutions", and that progress cannot be made "until those on the mental health side and those on the gun side find common ground that's rooted in empirical reality".

 I fully agree, and hope that we can all find our way to the empirical reality we are living in..