John Oliver hits it on the head...

John Oliver Slams Republicans Who Only Discuss Mental Health to Actively Avoid Gun Control

By Inae Oh

In the wake of Thursday's mass shooting at a community college in Oregon, many Republicans were quick to dismiss renewed calls for increased gun-safety measures, in favor of discussing the need for a stronger mental healthcare system.

On Sunday, John Oliver agreed that mental health is a topic Americans need to properly address. But as he explained on the latest Last Week Tonight, broaching mental health issues in the aftermath of a mass shooting is more often than not, a political strategy used to simply re-route the conversation away from gun control.

"It seems like there is nothing like a mass shooting to suddenly spark political interest in mental health," Oliver said, while featuring the talking points of Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee—all of whom after Oregon, steered away from discussing increased gun control legislation to tout the need for better mental health programs.

In reality, this is dangerously problematic because as Oliver explains, "the vast majority of mentally ill people are non-violent, and the vast majority of gun violence is committed by non-mentally ill people."

But if Republicans are only willing to talk about treating mental ill people following mass shootings, so be it: then at the "very least we owe them a fucking plan," Oliver said.