Shootings are by people in certain mental state

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  About 100 people rallied at the state Capitol Thursday to urge Washington state lawmakers to expand Medicaid, arguing that it would greatly help the mentally ill.

• Obama planning June 3 mental health conference

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  President Barack Obama is planning a mental health conference next month in response to gun violence.

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• Mental health court could cut jail costs

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  In the aftermath of the Dec. 14 school shooting in Newtown, Conn., most of the focus has been on guns – and how easy it is for disturbed individuals to obtain them. But that tragedy – as well as earlier mass killings – have also shone a light on weaknesses in mental health treatment in the United States.

• Mental health reform should start now

  Mental health reform should start now

  May is Mental Health Awareness Month and it would seem appropriate at this time to take a look at mental health services in our bi-county region with an eye toward addressing some of its most serious shortcomings.

  But first, let’s take a look at mental illness and perhaps shed some light on many of the misperceptions about this ubiquitous problem. Remember that more than 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers from an identifiable mental illness in any given year.

  The single most important factor in understanding mental illness is the recognition and acceptance that it is a medical condition and, as with most medical conditions, it is treatable.