Letter: Why Was Shooter Allowed to Roam Streets With Mental Disorder?

Dear Editor:

Why?  Why was the shooter allowed to roam the streets with a mental disorder? Why wasn’t law enforcement officials notified of the shooter’s mental history?  Why wasn’t his access to guns restricted? 

How do we expect law enforcement officials to do their job if the people who are trained to recognize disorders withhold information from them?  Our laws should require psychologist to keep law enforcement officials informed not with vague statements like “is likely to harm” but “probably will harm.”  Psychologist who are trained to identify mental health disorders need to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their inactions as well as actions. 

They need to protect society rather than endangering society. 

The cure for preventing similar killings lies in having the proper information and defining the purpose and responsibilities of psychologist.  They need to be accountable.

The criteria for mandatory controls over the mentally ill are at fault.  Existing gun control laws are not to blame.  They are almost impossible to enforce without the proper information and the willingness to use them.  

If we are going to have school psychologist who are trained to recognize mental disorders, then what are they doing with the information.  Our psychologist would have us believe it’s better to try to accommodate disturbed people than it is to insure the mentally ill are not in a position to harm others.  Psychologist should enhance society, not endanger it.

-Robert L. Style, Kirkland