Washington, DC…In wake of the Florida school shooting that was allegedly committed by a young man that many people knew ahead of time had some very disturbing tendencies is it time to revisit how we treat the mentally ill or potentially mentally ill?  The Florida School Shooting, Texas Church Massacre, Sandy Hook and many more were carried out by those with known mental issues.  O’Connor v. Donaldson was the 1975 Supreme Court case that effectively ended the era of state mental hospitals.  While that decision was laudable for many, many reasons it has also led to an era of epidemic homelessness, mass shootings and rising suicide rates.

Yes, some innocent people would be institutionalized but at least they would be alive to try to prove their mental competence to rejoin society.  Could easing rules for declaring someone a risk to others or themselves be a first step that both the left and right could agree on?

The odds of the left and right agreeing on anything remotely related to the 2nd amendment seem remote but both sides agree that those with demonstrable mental issues shouldn’t be allowed to have weapons.

More on the case from Wikipedia…”O’Connor v. Donaldson, 422 U.S. 563 (1975), was a landmark decision in mental health law. The United States Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot constitutionally confine a non-dangerous individual who is capable of surviving safely in freedom by themselves or with the help of willing and responsible family members or friends. Since the trial court jury found, upon ample evidence, that petitioner did so confine respondent, the Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s conclusion that petitioner had violated respondent’s right to liberty.^[1][2][3]”