Mental Health Issues and Gun Control

Huffington Post

Suspected killer Erika Menendez being arrested.
It doesn't have to happen.

Every year about 1,000 people in the U.S. are murdered by severely mentally ill people.
Over 38,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year -- 90% of whom have a diagnosable mental illness. 
Treatable mental illness destroys the lives of tens of millions of families each year. The economic toll is enormous -- and mostly hidden. Untreated mental illnesses in the U.S. costs more than $100 billion a year in lost productivity according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
 
Control of handguns and assault rifles is a needed start. It is the low hanging fruit.

The pro-gun response is that we need to address the mental health issues INSTEAD of doing something about the gun availability.
What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.