Can the US Surgeon General call for a moratorium on gun sales until [View all]
the mental health crisis in the US is addressed, in conjunction with the other measures the President and VP are working on?
Mental Illness on the Rise in the U.S.
Several months ago, SAMHSA (The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) issued the results of their national survey on mental health in the United States.
First and foremost, the survey evidenced that over 45 million Americans - approximately one in five adults - suffer from some form of mental illness. Among those adults, the percentage having a serious disorder was 4.8 percent (or 11 million individuals). Perhaps most alarming, however, was the fact that 62 percent of those individuals failed to receive health services for their illness. As Pamela Hyde, a SAMHSA administrator, stated, "Too many Americans are not getting the help they need and opportunities to prevent and intervene early are being missed."
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/therapy-matters/201105/mental-illness-the-rise-in-the-us
20% is a big deal. How many of them are buying guns? I don't know what the best way to handle such a sensitive issue is, but we can't continue to bury our heads in the sand.