The rhetoric is tired—and so are we at the Voice. Gun control has dropped off the map of firebrand issues in political dialogue. When it is discussed, it is separated into categories: expanding gun control measures or shoring up resources for mental health.
The shooting at Fort Hood on April 2 exposed other issues in the gun control debate, especially regarding military personnel. This is the second shooting at the Fort Hood base, the first one taking place in 2009, and the third shooting to take place on military grounds, the last one at the Navy Yard in D.C. last September.
These events raise a question about how the military handles the mental health of its veterans. With the growing acceptance and increased diagnoses of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the military must shift its focus to address veterans when they return. More than 22 veterans a day commit suicide according data released by the department of Veterans Affairs in January.
Ivan Lopez, the perpetrator of the shooting, allegedly snapped because he was denied leave to attend his mother’s funeral. Lopez was treated for mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. Even so, Lopez’s Ambien prescription does not constitute holistic mental health treatment.
Military officials expressed skepticism that his four-month tour in Iraq could result in PTSD severe enough to trigger a shooting. They are downplaying traumatic experiences Lopez may have had while on duty, even if he was not on the front lines.
This shooting is proof the military needs to adapt to the postwar era and deal with the effects the mental scars of war have on its veterans.
The military is struggling to provide adequate mental health services to all its veterans and scrambling to find qualified professionals to fill the psychiatrist and psychologist positions established by the department of Veteran’s Affairs, leaving the system overtaxed, according to Derek Bennett, chief of staff for Iraq And Afghanistan Veterans Of America, in an interview with NPR. What’s more, many veterans are still fighting to receive their benefits, as it was in Lopez’s case. The combination of financial and emotional stress leaves veterans in a precarious position that could be prevented if the military created the resources needed to place military mental health care on the same level as physical health care.
Since the first shooting at Fort Hood, we have seen tragedies across the country—Tucson, Aurora, Sandy Hook—and yet we remain stagnant. We cannot afford to stand on square one forever, and the military can take the first steps by treating its members with the healthcare they deserve for their service.
“Gun control has dropped off the map of firebrand issues in political dialogue.”
First of all, “firebrand” is generally used as a noun, not an adjective. Second, “dropped off the map” doesn’t really work in that sentence.
Can you guys learn how to write better?