The ever-present and recent tragic incidents of gun violence that have victimized our communities and nation have resulted in justified concern and significant discussion. Much of the current discussion has focused upon the Second Amendment and have disregarded, to a great degree, other issues that must be considered regarding this critical public safety matter.
Although I have great respect and admiration for each of my colleague sheriffs and police chiefs across the country, I take exception to the handful of public servants who have suggested that they would reject enforcement of any “unconstitutional mandates,” specifically related to the Second Amendment, which I support. The rhetoric, of the few, related to these significant constitutional issues has been interpreted by many who believe that a person in a position of authority might be able to determine the constitutionality of an issue.
If an issue were to be arbitrarily deemed “unconstitutional,” the decision to curtail further enforcement responsibilities would be in direct conflict with the concept of the balance of powers, as defined by our founders. The principle of balance of powers demands a system of checks and balances, accomplished through the distinct and deliberate separation of the authority and responsibilities of the three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. Public safety professionals serving in the executive branch do not have the constitutional authority, responsibility, and in most cases, the credentials to determine the constitutionality of any issue.
A public safety professional suggesting they can determine the constitutionality of an issue and establish public policy based upon that ill-conceived notion is tantamount to a peace officer arresting an individual, deciding guilt and sentencing the individual to incarceration in the county jail. This is not how our principle based, constitutional system functions. We are a nation of laws.
Reviews of the tragedies involving incidents of gun violence typically involve three consistent and obvious themes: guns, death and or injury, and the perpetrator’s mental health. Of the three themes, the perpetrator’s mental illness continues to be the one element that consistently receives the least amount of intervention or prevention efforts, while being a significant cause of the victimizations.
The identification of mental illness, intervention, treatment and continued care consistently receive inadequate resources, although the impact of an individual’s unmet mental health issues become a major concern once the tragedy has occurred. The nation’s largest mental health treatment facilities are not hospitals, but are county jails and state prisons. There is a strong link between untreated mental illness and committing violent acts. The National Sheriffs Association and the Treatment Advocacy Center studied the issues and recently published “No Room at the Inn, Trends and Consequences of Closing Public Psychiatric Hospitals.” The results of the research study are instructive and relevant to the important responsibilities of considering, defining, and implementing meaningful and sustainable solutions to acts of violence, gun violence and victimization.
A fourth theme related to the plague of violence and gun violence is gang involved violence and/or street crime violence. The issues of gang involved and/or street crime violence fails to receive consideration or acknowledgement from public officials, the general public or the media.
Any responsible discussion that is dedicated to the timely implementation of meaningful and sustainable solutions to violence and gun violence must include the robust and well-informed consideration of the significant impacts caused by gang realted violence and/or street crime violence.
I offer these suggestions as the community begins discussing these issues:
• Increase and enhance access to mental health services for at risk populations.
• Ensure more open and meaningful sharing of information related to individuals suffering mental illness with families, treatment providers and public safety officials to enhance the ability to implement intervention and prevention measures in a timely manner.
•Make schools, places of worship and business establishments safer through enhancing security and working in partnership to plan for the prevention, intervention, response and mitigation of potential acts of violence
• Aggressively and vigorously prosecute those responsible for committing crimes involving firearms.
• Implement appropriate measures to prohibit the possession of weapons by dangerous or ineligible individuals through effective background checks, while protecting the privacy rights of those who legally own and safely possess firearms.
• Support and implement evidence-based practices and best practices related to the intervention and prevention of gun violence, gang violence and street crime violence.
• Acknowledge the “culture of violence” associated with the internet, television, movies and violent video games, and to take measures to decrease the impacts upon our youth and young adults.
Acts of violence and gun violence have and will, sadly, continue to victimize our community and our country. We all have an obligation to our families, neighbors, our community and our country to be engaged and to demand that well-considered, meaningful, and sustainable solutions to these senseless acts of violence are implemented in a timely manner.
J. Grayson Robinson is serving his third term as Arapahoe County sheriff, is a former police officer and military veteran.