The U.S. is trying to cope with another mass shooting after several people were killed at a holiday parade in Illinois this week. In Iowa, mental-health advocates want to stress the need for the public debate to avoid common misconceptions.

The recent wave of mass shootings has renewed calls for stricter gun laws, while opponents of that approach often focus on mental-health concerns.

Peggy Hubbert is the executive director of the Iowa chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. She said people who consistently tie mental health to mass shootings are obscuring the facts.

"People with serious mental illness," said Hubbert, "are much more likely to be the victim of violence than to be the perpetrators of it."

The motive behind Monday's shooting hasn't been fully established. But Huppert said common themes from past attacks - such as racism - aren't mental illnesses with a simple diagnosis.

NAMI says while support for more mental-health treatment is welcome, it shouldn't get in the way of common-sense reforms that promote gun safety.

Huppert also said she sees a mental health component that she said should get more attention - that these attacks create the potential for survivors, community members and the public at large to deal with trauma afterwards.

"When you enter a movie theatre, or grocery store or a church," said Hubbert, "you immediately scan to see where the exits are. And kids are thinking the same thing, because they're having active shooter drills in school."

As for added mental-health support, Huppert said there have been examples of improvements, including programs on college campuses. But she acknowledged that provider shortages in states like Iowa.

Congress recently approved the Safer Communities Act, which includes some bipartisan gun-control measures, along with mental-health funding. However, some advocates say the plan needs tougher provisions on gun regulation.

There are at least three victims after a shooting incident that happened at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus on Wednesday.

By afternoon, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the severity of the injuries was not known and the number of injured people could change.

"I want to say to the community, there is no further threat," said McMahill. "I will tell you that this combined police, state, local and federal law enforcement along with the fire department worked very well, as the chief told you. We do have one suspect down."

McMahill said the motive behind the shooting is not known at this time, but adds that a number of victims have been transported to nearby hospitals.

The LVMPD has a hotline set up for those impacted by the shooting and encourages people to call 702-455-2433 if they need assistance.

UNLV campus police say they received a call of an active shooter event close to noon on Wednesday. University of Nevada campuses decided to close Wednesday out of what is being called "an abundance of caution."

McMahill said police and investigators went building-to-building to ensure the campus was clear, and recalled the October 2017 Harvest Festival shooting.

"The campus is a very large area to cover, much like we had in the aftermath of the one in October," said McMahill. "There are a lot of additional calls coming that students are hunkered down, they're afraid, they're scared."

Fuente de Vida Mental Health Services is providing mental-health resources and help to those impacted and who speak Spanish.




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Gun-safety advocates in New Hampshire are urging Gov. Chris Sununu to back policies proven to reduce gun violence following a series of deadly shootings in the state.

Advocates will gather this week to set legislative priorities for the upcoming session, including efforts to close background-check loopholes and enforce extreme risk-protection orders.

Zandra Rice Hawkins, director of GunSense NH, a project of Granite State Progress, said no community is immune to gun violence.

"They're not immune in Lewiston, Maine, they're not immune in Concord, New Hampshire," Rice Hawkins asserted. "Unless we wrap our arms around this and really work together for more policy solutions, we're going to continue to have more loss."

Rice Hawkins pointed out lawmakers could also enact gun-free school zones in New Hampshire, a state currently blocking the enforcement of federal firearms laws.

Gun safety advocates said many of their proposals, including extended waiting periods between the purchase and delivery of a firearm and increased access to mental health services are both popular and bipartisan.

Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth, argued mental health services must be combined with stronger gun laws to prevent both mass shootings and firearm-related suicides.

"One of the things I'm hoping that mental health can be kind of a point of agreement," Meuse explained. "And maybe a starting point for agreement on some other things down the road."

Meuse added the New Hampshire Hospital shooter was once involuntarily committed, which should have made him ineligible to purchase a firearm, yet New Hampshire is one of just three states not reporting such information to databases used in background checks for firearms purchases.

More than 1,300 Arizonans died by gun violence in 2021 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While mass shootings get widespread media attention, shootings can take place in many locations, including inside homes. A new study looks at the impacts children and adolescent survivors of gun violence face after being shot. The study found a year after being shot, younger survivors experienced higher rates of pain disorders, psychiatric disorders and an almost 150% increase in substance use disorders.

Kelly Drane, research director at the Giffords Law Center, said gun violence can have devastating effects on children and their families.

"One study found that they actually earn less money as adults if they've experienced gun violence as a child," Drane pointed out. "Because they kind of make choices and have a harder time learning in school and it impacts the kinds of careers that they have later in life."

Drane argued it is important to note the toll gun violence has on children does not stop with the bullet, but continues on and can last for generations. Studies and experts recommended enacting extreme risk laws to block those who pose a danger to themselves or others from obtaining a firearm. Additionally, secure storage laws would require people to store guns safely and prevent unsupervised access.

Drane recognized gun rights can be a very polarizing topic across the United States, but added there is consensus no one should feel afraid to go to the grocery store or fear their child might hurt themselves in a home where a firearm is present. She added people want safe communities and a majority support what she calls "common sense gun safety policies." Drane hopes things will improve.

"We are at a really interesting inflection point in our country," Drane observed. "Gun violence is at this really severe crisis point, but we also are seeing more states than ever really step up and pass the kind of laws that are necessary to combat this crisis. That is not to say that we don't need more, or that we are doing enough, but I think we are definitely seeing signs of progress."

Drane added as elections approach, she encouraged voters to get educated on where candidates stand on the issue and suggested Arizonans build what she calls a "safer culture," around firearms while preserving the Second Amendment right by using secure firearm storage practices.