Attributing blame to mental illness rather than guns is a moral disengagement strategy

Evidence

Affirming a constitutional gun right cannot entirely eliminate moral qualms about the bodies of little children ripped apart by bullets. The mode of moral disengagement that does heavy duty—attribution of blame—shifts the focus from unjustifiable lethal firearms to the mental health of the gunman and the inadequacy of mental health services of the nation. Causal analysis, which severs agents from their means of action, has a long history in the justification of gun violence. It goes back to the causal cliché that people, not guns, kill people. This disjointed view of causation continues to be recited. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1269 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Robert Levy, the chairman of the Cato Institute, used causal displacement to mental illness and the futility justification to argue against gun regulation. He argued that with millions of guns in circulation, any restrictions on new guns would have little effect. Instead, “early detection and treatment of mental illness” can reduce the risk of mass killings (Baker & Landler, 2012). Governor Hickenlooper of Colorado noted, “The common element of so many of these mass homicides seems to be a level of mental illness” (Nagourney, 2012). What is conspicuously missing in this truncated causal analysis is the fact that semiautomatic firearms are always present in the recent spate of mass shootings. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1287 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Biologizing mental illness conveniently depoliticizes its social causes — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No…, 82; Mental illness is not a major driver of extremism on its own — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 150; Gun-regulation opponents displace causal responsibility onto mental illness while omitting weapons’ constant presence — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 1287 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Gun-violence apologists shift blame to mental illness to avoid condemning firearms #corroborates (0.95) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1269
• Gun-regulation opponents displace causal responsibility onto mental illness while omitting weapons’ constant presence #corroborates (0.93) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1287