Mother Jones Senior Editor Mark Follman: The Mind, Madness and Gun Violence

This is an audio recording of a past event put on by the Commonwealth Club of California: The Mind, Madness and Gun Violence Thu, Nov 1 2012 - 6:00pm Renée L. Binder, M.D., University of California, San Francisco Medical School; Psychiatrist; Professor; Founder and Director, UCSF Psychiatry and the Law Program Carol Kingsley, Attorney/Mediator; Board Member, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Her husband Jack was among those killed at 101 California Street in 1993. Mark Follman, Senior Editor, Mother Jones, focused on politics and national security. This past summer, Follman led an in-depth data investigation into mass shootings following the incidents in Aurora, Colorado and Wisconsin. Robert J. McMenomy, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Francisco Division, headquarters and field agent investigating and managing criminal, counterterrorism and administrative matters John Diaz , Editorial Page Editor, San Francisco Chronicle - Moderator A loaded gun in the hands of an unstable person wreaked havoc almost 20 years ago at 101 California Street in downtown San Francisco. Nine people died and scores of lives were forever shattered. In the decades since, mass shootings have happened across America: Columbine High, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Aurora, Oak Creek – most of them with legal weapons, many in the hands of a mentally ill person. How can we predict and prevent violent acts in those who are mentally ill? What is the medical profile of a mentally ill person capable of carrying out this kind of violent act? How do the state and federal laws protect the rights of mentally ill persons and the community at large? We will examine these challenging questions with an expert panel.