Guns, Violence and the Human Brain

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Gun violence and mental illness health concept as a psychiatric brain disorder risk with 3D illustration elements.

While pumping gas, I witnessed the strongest argument for common sense gun control—the emotionally hijacked human brain.

It began with shouting and threats, followed by a pickup burning rubber as it lurched perilously between pumps. I exchanged glances with the wide-eyed gent in the next lane, who quickly noted, “If there’s gunfire, I’m outta here.”

Fortunately, the hothead sped off without creating a crime scene, but it proved an awful point: violence can erupt anytime, anywhere, anyhow. Why? Because, when triggered by some vexing person or event, many humans lack emotional self-control. Politics and ideology aside, this is a factual warning about the risks posed by the brain when emotionally compromised and in possession of lethal technology.

Whatever the weapon—guns and autos come to mind—when one’s psyche morphs from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde, anything can happen in the blink of an eye. School shootings, workplace violence, homicidal road rage and the like fuel the delusion among clueless politicians that all evil doers are mentally ill, and that we simply need better treatment. This is a common refrain after a mass shooting: Never mind gun control, we just need to keep these whackos locked up or drugged down.

The oft-ignored facts from neuroscience prove otherwise. Most violent offenders are not suffering from a mental illness. In fact, persons with mental disorders are more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators.

The vast majority of deaths by firearms are suicides (63 per day or 23,000 per year) or domestic homicides, not mass shootings or premeditated murder. Meaning most gun violence stems from blokes who have lost control of their emotions in the moment and lack the mental leash to reign in that fire-breathing dragon. Seemingly normal folks can go temporarily insane when rage co-opts their mental faculties, and it doesn’t take long (under one second) to flip from okay to raving lunatic. Think of a time you witnessed someone (maybe yourself) in a blind rage and imagine putting an assault rifle in that person’s hands.

Sadly, we seem reluctant to acknowledge that many humans are ill-equipped to manage their behavior when something pushes one of their hot buttons. Because stressors like IT overload, hurry sickness, financial duress, booze and incivility are increasing emotional volatility across the population, more of us stand primed to “go off.”

Rage is temporary, but its impacts can be permanent. Many is the sad soul who awoke from a blind fury and returned to his or her senses only to face a life of regret, or worse. When emotionally compromised, there are things we do that cannot be undone. I don’t have a legislative fix for this issue, but I find it irresponsible that those empowered to find one ignore what neuroscience knows about the emotionally hijacked brain. Bottom line? We can’t trust it.

If someone is going to be a so-called good person with a gun, he or she must first be a person with an in-control brain, which doesn’t always come naturally. While there are no panaceas for restraining rage, once triggered, there are proven methods that reduce emotional reactivity, such as specific breathing techniques used by some first responders, meditation and cognitive therapy tactics involving self-talk.

However, even when encouraged to learn such methods, many emotionally volatile people live in denial (“What, me worry?”). In their view, they are trustworthy, but, when it comes to their limbic brains, the science says not so much. So, there will always be human land mines in our midst. If we want to make it easy for them to turn rage into bloody mayhem, just arm them to the teeth and keep pretending we’re a rational species. You’ll see the results on the news.