Following [mass shootings], the national conversation quickly shifts to discuss mental illness as the culprit. Policymakers discuss the need for more mental health services and programs that keep “dangerous people with mental illness” off the streets. But these talking points perpetuate a false narrative and play on the fears and anxiety of the public. The data tells a much different story. People with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence, not perpetrators, and severe mental illness can only be attributed to 3 to 5 percent of violent acts in communities.

Mental health conditions are common around the globe, yet no other country comes close to the level of gun violence our country experiences. Americans kill each other with guns at 25 times the rate of other high-income countries. It is not because we have 25 times the proportion of people with mental illness.

Scapegoating mental illness takes us further away from finding solutions to the gun violence crisis. While it’s true that our country is in the midst of a mental health crisis and a gun violence crisis, those are not the same issues. We must stop conflating these public health crises and instead use research and data to understand what is causing harm to our communities.