Gun bans sound great in theory, but there's a reason why prohibition failed, there's a reason why people still smoke weed and do a number of illicit drugs that are illegal. There's a reason why education has shifted from abstinence education to safety for pregnancy and STI's. There's a reason why there are transition places for drug addicts (safe needle zones, methodone clinics etc.).

Unless the culture accepts the bans, then bans don't work. For better or worse, America is not similar enough to countries like Saudi Arabia to have nationwide bans on things and have them actually be successful.

Culture needs to change in tandem with policy change. Blind policy does nothing. Mental illness is wide enough in scope that you mentioning cousins and aunts (depression, anxiety etc.) is on a different scope than what other problems. Having a family member with a physical condition like paralysis doesn't necessarily (though it can) give you insight into someone who has another physical condition like HIV.

That's what I had suggested in my first comment, where awareness needed to be greater and that's what the conversation needed to be about - would help drive both culture and policy change.

I apologize for the lecture. I hope you can see where I'm coming from. My main contention is that "explaining something" is different from "justifying something". I don't justify what he has done, or what others like him have done or what others like him will no doubt do in the future. My intention is to get to the root cause (explanation) and for the problem to be tackled from that direction.