Letter to the Editor: We rarely hear about citizens who suffer psychological or physical impairments from gun violence

This note is in response to the insightful Muddy River News story about the acute and chronic mental health consequences of being near to a public space shooting like the one that occurred recently at TJ Maxx. The eyewitness account and experience of a local mental health professional was augmented by the interview with another, non-involved mental health professional.

We always hear of the 45,000 or more firearm fatalities in the U.S. each year. Hardly ever are we appraised of the tens and tens of thousands of our fellow citizens who suffer serious, sometimes permanent psychological and/or physical impairments from gun violence. People who are fearful, anxious, disfigured, maimed, crippled, paraplegic or brain damaged do not get their deserved publicity or compensation. These victims‘ consequences should be laid before the public as well as the suicides, murders, mass shootings, random shootings and accidental deaths that make the news for a day. 

Then there can be a full and public accounting of the harmful extent of gun violence in America. Then, perhaps, the public will fully appreciate the magnitude of the effects of gun violence we suffer.

Then, perhaps, our political process will have the knowledge and courage to address this long-running public health catastrophe.

Dr. William Hyde
Quincy, Illinois