The reality is that there has long been a need for comprehensive mental health reform. This is not because of the supposed connection to violence, but because the simple reality is that our system is broken.
While some people with mental illness want to harm themselves or others, the vast majority do not. And while some people who want to do harm have a mental illness, the vast majority do not. When people with mental illnesses do engage in violent acts — including homicide and, far more frequently, suicide — it is never the first symptom of the illness, only the last one.
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