“Psychiatrists and mental health experts interviewed by NBC News didn’t see gun-toting doctors as a new trend. In fact, they said, guns really aren’t the best protection against a violent patient with severe mental illness.” See what they did there? “Psychiatrists and mental health experts interviewed by NBC News” implies that the network news folks spoke to a wide-range of mental health experts and came up with a consensus about armed shrinks in light of the Dr. Lee Silverman’s defensive gun use at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. Anyone who reads TTAG knows there are plenty of pro-gun MDs who understand the value of their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. Strange how NBC didn’t manage to find one. But they did find this guy . . .

 

“My guess is that arming psychiatrists is more likely to be harmful than helpful,” said DJ Jaffe, executive director of Mental Illness Policy Org, a nonpartisan science-based think tank focused on serious mental illness. The weapon mental health professionals would like to have is legislation that makes it easier to commit dangerous patients before a tragedy occurs. “Violence by the mentally ill is always due to them being untreated,” Jaffe said. “We need to change commitment laws. We can’t wait to commit someone until after they become a danger to others.”

Sure. That would have stopped Richard Plotts. Not. At least The American Psychological Association understands their members need to defend themselves and other innocent life through force of arms, if and when necessary. Oh wait . . .

The American Psychological Association said the shooting near Philadelphia was out of the ordinary, but declined to say anything further in response to NBC News.

“The APA has no official position on unusual incidents like this one and has no comment at this time,” said APA spokeswoman Eve Herold.

I wonder why NBC didn’t mention the fact that Mercy Fitzgerald thanked the doctor and assured him that he won’t be disciplined for violating the institution’s code of conduct prohibiting firearms on company grounds. Could it be that the network is anti-firearms freedom? Yeah, that.

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48 COMMENTS

    • Unfortunately, that seems to be the only way major policy decisions get made now a days.

    • …..unless his name is Hickenlooper.

      …..unless his name is O’Malley.

      …..unless his name is Cuomo.

      This is fun! Let’s do more!

    • What was shocking to me was that they followed “My guess is” with, “said …. a nonpartisan science-based think tank.” I guess passing pseudoscience off as science is a-ok so long as it agrees with the anti-rights agenda.

  2. It is NBC what did you expect. they are practically an arm of the Obama administration and anyone who is on the far left

    • +1. NBC hasn’t had news in 35 years. It’s been NBC Progressive Opinion. Not that ABC, CBS, PBS, ESPN are any different. Fox News is better but not nearly as hard ass as their reputation.

  3. Oh, and psych patients go untreated because of the principle of right to self determination which states that even an acutely psychotic person (as long as they do not pose an imminent threat to themselves or others) can decline medication and treatment. Because people with hallucinations and delusional thinking have excellent judgment…..

  5. Any time I hear the term “think tank” I know there’s some serious bullshit involved.

  6. Great. The APA is in charge of precrime and define mental illness in an ever increasing volume of more general mental health “issues”. All while using a legal process that can involuntarily commit and revoke Constitutional rights? And with little recourse, oversight, and restoration? Supported and quickly conceived by the same folks that assert all veterans have mental illnes issues?

    • You are correct, sir. Psychology was perfected as a political weapon by kindly old Joe Stain’s Soviet regime back in the 20’s and 30’s. “You feel differently than we do, Comrade? You must be mentally ill!” It’s a dandy little racket. Gun owners must all be… mentally ill. One size fits all!

  7. “Violence by the mentally ill is always due to them being untreated,” Jaffe said.

    Always? I laughed.
    I could post the list of just about every mass shooter/murderer and the drugs they were on, (because they were being treated for mental issues), but I think everybody has already read it.

    • The guy gets paid a lot of money because he is supposed to be an expert at treating mental issues. Of course he’s gonna say “If only I had 1 hour with him at $500 an hour…” To admit that it might not be enough would be to admit his own futility as a doc.

      • Ah, Yes.
        .
        It’s what Chamberlin said with regards to Hitler and the 2nd World War:
        .
        “If only I could have talked to him?
        .
        The man is himself mentally ill.

    • One of the side effects of some “treatments” is thoughts of suicide and death…

      But, I’m sure that’s just coincidental.

      Never mind the big dollar, pharmaceutical lobbyist behind the curtain.

  8. “didn’t see gun-toting doctors as a new trend. In fact, they said, guns really aren’t the best protection against a violent patient with severe mental illness.”

    As a physician, gun owner and CCL holder I call BULLSHIT.

    Carry on.

  9. “didn’t see gun-toting doctors as a new trend. In fact, they said, guns really aren’t the best protection against a violent patient with severe mental illness.” Right, he should have hit with a clip board and then fought him with a ball point pen.

    • If the Doc had one of those bullet resistant clip boards, along with the pen, he would have been golden/ oh, I mean dead.

  10. Mercy..I’m sure Dr. Silverman would disagree! You can”t fix EPIC stupid.

  11. People don’t realize that psychiatrists have frequent contact with psychopaths and we often have to do things that make them mad (limit controlled substances, give diagnoses that make disability hard to obtain). That ignores the psychotic people who we also treat. It’s more dangerous than most jobs. We had a case worker get beaten in the office last week.

      • I have worked in a mental HOSPITAL for 6 years. I have a Chl and carry daily, but not into work. Prohibited. Alot of points have been made about how treatment makes you the target of a lot of attacks. I received a busted lip from a guy I took contraband off of just the start of this month. I think we as a country need a serious mental health overhaul, but patients have far more power and rights than practitioners do.

  13. “We need to change commitment laws. We can’t wait to commit someone until after they become a danger to others.”

    Sooooooooo you are saying EVERYONE should be locked up because they *MIGHT* be a danger to others at some time in the near or distant future? Further that we should allow this determination of who needs to be committed (for the children?) based on who’s guess? Yours???? Not friggin likely pal.

    In other words IF I could jump just a little higher, I could possibly bump my head on the moon, therefore you should be allowed to nail my feet to the floor…. Makes just as much sense.

  14. Let me translate this into English. “This prick Silverman stopped another mass shooting that we could have used to further out anti Second Amendment agenda. He should died along with a dozen or so others so we could grab some guns.”

    • That was my translation as well. I had a ‘tard arguing with me yesterday that the Doc may have been the only target and really didn’t accomplish anything by shooting “the patient.” One thing about it, this “patient” killed one person, but he has been cured.

  17. I think it’s interesting that this story is coming so soon after the event….it’s like NBC thought,”SH!T!!! People NATIONWIDE will see that this guy saved lives and think guns might have a useful purpose! How can we try to debunk this logical conclusion as soon as possible????”.

  18. That’s quite a racket the psych industry is running, isn’t it?

    Whenever one of their charges locks and loads and flings himself off the deep end, despite abundant evidence of their rabid psychosis and lengthy history of mental health treatment, the psych industry gets to play any one of their favorites get-out-of-responsibility-free cards.

    My favorite is the classic: the wimpy, wistful “Well, whatcha gonna do? We can’t predict every act of human behavior, you know.” They have others, though:

    “Well, if only we had better funding…..”
    “Well, if only we had stronger laws…..”
    “Well, if only we weren’t understaffed…..”
    “Well, we have to preserve patient privacy…..”
    “Well, if we acted on *everyone* who’s ever made an idle threat…..”

    And on and on. My question is, why does the totality of the psych industry’s excuse-making amount to “We have no idea what we’re doing, so give us more money, power and people to keep doing it”?

  21. Pity NBC didn’t ask these doctors about the mass casualty shooters. All of then were clearly psychotic and needed to be in treatment.

      • Is there any other kind? They all want to keep their jobs. Precious few can offer an opinion that isn’t driven by that factor alone. Thankfully in some cases, as it’s the only reason they listen to us ever, sometimes.

  23. If ‘violence by the mentally ill is always due to them being untreated’, then how is it this guy shot his very own caseworker, and, was apparently in the process of shooting Dr Silverman in a hospital, no less?

  24. Let me look into my crystal ball….

    A few months into the future after all the shooting hubbub has died down, Mercy Hospital will have a surprise weapons inspection and the good doctor will be fired for breaking hospital policy.

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