It’s the time of the year when news organizations broadcast and publish lists from 2012. The July movie shooting in Aurora, Colorado, that left twelve dead and 58 wounded, and the December killings at the Sandy Hook Elementary school that claimed the lives 20 children and six adults, are on every Top Ten 2012 Story List.
On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, President Barack Obama promised to put his “full weight” behind legislation aimed at preventing gun violence. One of his top priorities, he said, will be pushing for increased background checks and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity bullet magazines.
“It is not enough for us to say, `This is too hard so we’re not going to try,’” Obama said.
Sadly, there was little mention on the news show about the need for meaningful mental health reform. A cynic might conclude that the only change that seems in the works is further stigmatizing of persons with mental illness by targeting them in background checks.