During a campaign rally in New Hampshire last week, President Donald Trump returned his focus to building new mental health facilities as a response to gun violence in America.
Medical ethicist Art Caplan told Boston Public Radio on Monday people should be wary that the president is calling for more facilities like institutions and asylums that were shut down decades ago.
"When Trump says, Let's bring [mental health institutions] back, I'm not against trying to find something for the mentally ill. If we're not going to build small units, then maybe we could build decent, big units, but I'm terrified that he's just going to warehouse people," said Caplan. "The president is basically saying, We've got to build these facilities because we have to have a place to put people before they shoot us."
Trump called for more facilities as a way to house what he called "mentally deranged and dangerous" people in the wake of two recent mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. He had previously said he would be open to background checks, but did not mention those policies at the New Hampshire rally, favoring the mental illness discussion instead.
Caplan said that while the mass closure of mental institutions contributed to mentally ill people becoming homeless, Trump has incorrectly linked mental illness with mass shootings and violence. Research indicates that mental illness is not a good predictor for mass violence.
Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center. He’s also the co-host of the everyday ethics podcast.
