The Atlantic

Trump's Call for Mental Institutions Could Be Good

Bringing back asylums isn't actually the worst idea.
Source: Kevin Riddell / AP

President Donald Trump continued to point to mental-health solutions to America’s gun-violence problem this week, this time saying that he would like to reopen mental asylums that have been closed over the past few decades.

“Part of the problem is we used to have mental institutions ... where you take a sicko like this guy,” in a discussion with state and local officials about last week’s mass shooting at a high school in Florida. “We’re going to be talking seriously about opening mental-health institutions again.”

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