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The American Psychological Association says bigotry and gun laws are to blame for mass shootings, not 'mental illness'

Any time a mass shooting occurs in America—which is basically every week at this point—hoards of people start blaming "mental health." Despite the fact that every other developed nation also has people with mental illnesses and nowhere near our mass shooting numbers, mental health becomes the scapegoat for people who insist that gun violence has nothing to do with guns.

On the surface, it may seem like a plausible enough theory. After all, no one in a sane state of mind walks into a concert, a shopping center, or a place of worship and starts shooting people randomly. Such folks are clearly not right in the head, so "mental health" seems like a logical place to go.

RELATED: Twice as many American children die from gun violence as police officers and soldiers combined

But according to the American Psychological Association—the actual experts in mental health—that blame is misplaced. Instead, they say, the toxic combination of "easy access to assault weapons and hateful rhetoric" and the "negative cognitive and behavioral effects" of racism are the ills that we really need to be addressing if we want to stop mass killings.

APA President Rosie Phillips Davis, PhD, released the following statement on the shootings in El Paso and Dayton. It's worth reading in full:

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'I felt ill': Brendan Fraser describes sexual assault that nearly made him quit acting

Remember Brendan Fraser? 10 years ago, he was one of Hollywood's biggest stars. Then, he suddenly disappeared.

If you were a kid in the late '90s and early '00s, chances are you saw a Brendan Fraser movie. The comedy and action star catapulted to fame behind blockbusters like "The Mummy" franchise, "George of the Jungle," "Looney Tunes: Back in Action," and the Oscar-winning film "Crash."

But after 2008, he largely disappeared from major starring roles. His absence wasn't due to drugs, a sex-scandal, or illness — despite memes and even reported articles speculating about his career arc, with many blaming it on poor career choices.

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I wrote a news headline that didn't even link to a story. Over 2,000 people commented on it anyway.

Read the damn article, people.

I've written for the fine people of the internet for more than a decade. At this point, you'd think nothing would surprise me.

I mean, I've had private messages sent to my personal inboxes that would make a sailor blush. I've had people write jaw-dropping screeds in response to articles I've written that shouldn't even have been controversial. I've watched comment sections turn into mob-like madness and have been called every unsavory name in the book.

Sometimes I think I've seen it all—and then something like this happens.

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NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch was fired and the internet is sending its thoughts and prayers.

While to most people, the public faces of the National Rifle Association are those of the children hiding under their desks while a shooter runs through their school with a semi-automatic weapon, Dana Loesch was technically the organization's spokesperson, until this week.

The National Rifle Association is shutting down one of its propaganda arms, NRA TV, and with it, Loesch herself.

The New York Times reports that after severing ties with their marketing firm, NRATV will stop producing new content and its hosts "will no longer be the public faces of the N.R.A."

Oh no, who's going to tell us that kids getting murdered in school is just the cost of freedom now?

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