I’m not sure why it has to be an either or thing. I think most people who are pro gun control would agree completely that we need to improve how we deal with people with mental illness.
The problem is lawmakers on the right (and many on the left too) don’t want to actually do anything about either.
All of this, too.
To illustrate the issue with a personal anecdote: I’m 98% sure I have major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and 85% sure I have bipolar II disorder. But I haven’t been diagnosed with any of these because no insurance I’ve ever had (including the new plan we started on at work this month) covers mental health treatment to any degree that it would be affordable to me. When I was seeing a therapist (who wasn’t able to clinically diagnose anything), it helped somewhat, but I had to stop going because it got far too expensive.
I can only imagine what it’s like for someone who has a mental illness that has more of a negative effect on their daily life than mine do, especially if it affects them to the degree that they can’t work and thus are probably uninsured altogether.