People with the kind of mental illness that leads to mass shootings do not seek treatment.
Most of the people involved in mass shootings do not have a diagnosed mental illness like the Aurora CO shooter, James Holmes. He was under the care of a psychiatrist but without a definitive diagnosis. He should have been prevented from buying weapons.
But the 'depressed loner' is unlikely to seek any kind of treatment or counseling because they do not necessarily see themselves as the problem. The world is unfair, the woman who rejected me is unfair, the school who expelled me is unfair, the job that terminated me is unfair.... and so on.
A narcissist will not seek treatment because he think's he is smarter than any therapist.
How many angry people seek anger management therapy unless ordered to do so by a court or an employer?
I realize this is just a lame talking point on the part of the NRA, but even to the degree that it has merit - its not particularly helpful. People who need mental health support do not get it because they don't have insurance, don't understand what it is, and don't want to be stigmatized. There are an infinite number of barriers to solving this problem as a psychological issue.
It makes a lot more sense to focus on controlling weapons and ammunition.
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