NCIL Condemns Trump’s Remarks on Mental Health and Violence

In less than 24 hours, two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio killed 31 people and wounded many more this weekend. NCIL mourns the loss of these 31 individuals, and our hearts are with the victims, their loved ones, and their communities right now.

In El Paso, we know the shooter was targeting immigrants; less is known about the Dayton massacre at this time. In response to the shootings, the President called those who committed the massacres “mentally ill monsters.” It is clear, however, that the massacre in El Paso, like many of the other recent tragedies we have seen across the country, was rooted in white supremacism that has been emboldened by our President. There is a direct connection between these tragedies and the racist, xenophobic, and otherwise discriminatory rhetoric and policies spewed by Trump and his Administration – particularly in this case the ongoing dehumanization of immigrants.

In his remarks, Trump proposed specific ways to reform our mental health laws, which included “involuntary confinement” of people with mental illness. His remarks and proposed ‘reforms’ are incredibly dangerous. It is unacceptable to deprive a group of disabled people their rights based solely on diagnosis and unfounded fear. Decades of research shows that people with psychiatric diagnoses are no more likely to be violent than people without, and in fact are much more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence. Enacting the reforms proposed by the President would trample on the rights of disabled people and ultimately do nothing to reduce gun violence. 

Conflating hate, racism, xenophobia and other forms of bigotry with mental illness is inexcusable. It is dangerous, false, and undermines efforts to address the true root of this violence. Trump’s rhetoric only serves to scapegoat disabled people and shift focus away from his own role in enabling this violence.

NCIL mourns the 31 lives lost this weekend and the many other lives we’ve lost in recent years alone. We condemn the ongoing hate-filled violence and stand in solidarity with the communities who have been targeted. We call on our elected officials to denounce white supremacy, and we urge them to work towards real solutions to gun violence that do not discriminate against disabled people.