Mentally Ill

There is an article in Time magazine this morning asking why are the mentally ill allowed to arm?

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2041448,00.html?hpt=T2

One I think there needs to be a line of caution since mentally ill in the terms of the article could have lots of implications.

Point One: Just because someone has different political views then the established majority does not make them mentally ill.
Point Two: People who hear voices, believe in things that aren’t real aren’t mentally ill most of them are just religious followers.

While I agree that this guy is probably a whack job I think it is an important distinction that being mentally ill is a biological concept not a concept of ideology. People who are mentally ill have chemical imbalances, distorted neurological processes etc. Just because you believe in something outlandish doesn't mean you are mentally ill.

I would like to say I am in no way of support of the act that was committed in Arizona. I think it is deplorable. I know it will have the opposite effect intended by the suspect. The power of the child pointing at the emperor and calling him naked didn’t come from a gun. It wasn’t forcing the person to comply through violence and intimidation. The power of a question has so much more velocity then a bullet.