this is a well crafted attempt to stigmatize and vilify the mentally ill ... if that is done, they can count on your (our) silence. The more people that speak out .... friends, neighbors, sister, brothers, co-workers ... the less gun fanatics can lay the blame at the feet of those suffering from mental illness. We all know someone or have suffered our selves from mental illness.

Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people. Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion — about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who suffer from a serious mental illness. In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada.3 Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to comorbidity.

Need to be as informed as possible in these debates.