The tragedy involving Christy Sheats did not have to happen.

[TexasBushwhacker]

She shot her 2 daughters and they died. She was killed by an officer when she refused to drop her weapon. It has now been confirmed that she had a history of mental illness. The police had been called to her home 14 times since January 2012 to deal with incidences involving her "mental crisis".

Christy had called for a "family meeting" on Saturday. Perhaps it was to talk about the older daughter's wedding to her long time boyfriend. It was to have been today.

Her husband was there too. The had been seperated but had recently reconciled. I'm sure he knew about her guns. Perhaps he enjoyed guns as well. But Christy was mentally ill and the were 10 guns in the house. That's right. TEN.

This really hits close to home for me. My father was bipolar and an alcoholic. My mother finally gave him an ultimatum after 35 years of marriage that he had to quit drinking and take his meds. He didn't. She divorced him.

He was what some would call high functioning. He was a CPA and the treasurer of a small university here in Houston. But like many people who are bipolar, he liked his mania and didn't take his meds. He finally had a psychotic break. He became very paranoid and started assembling an arsenal of weapons. Every black woman he saw was a prostitute and every black man was a drug dealer. He thought is was his job to clean up the neighborhood.

I was living with him at the time. I could not ignore his paranoia and I couldn't wait for him to shoot someone. I went to the county mental hospital and filled out the paperwork to have him picked up.It wasn't easy. I had to lie to him to get him away from the house and his weapons. I cried like a baby. I knew my daddy would never forgive me. But if he had hurt someone or been shot by the police, I could never forgive myself. He ended up staying in the hospital voluntarily for 3 weeks. My brothers and I removed all the weapons.

So Christy Sheats' husband allowed guns to be kept in the house, knowing his wife was mentally ill. He didn't remove them. He probably didn't want to make her mad. He made a mistake he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

Please don't make the same mistake he did. If you or anyone in your home has mental illness, anger issues or problems with addictions, there should not be firearms in the home. Don't be afraid to piss someone off. You might just save a life.

http://www.people.com/article/christy-sheats-texas-mother-killed-kids

[Dustlawyer]

1. That was a brave thing to do with your father. I hope it turns out well.

[TexasBushwhacker]

2. He didn't kill anyone or get killed by the police

That was good enough for me. He got very verbally abusive towards me, so finally I told him not to contact me unless there was an emergency. We didn't speak for 10 years. We ended up having a distant but cordiall relationship after my mother died in 2004 after a longbattle with breast cancer. He died from complications of a stroke about 4 years later.

[Ilsa]

3. You're right: the setup failed her and the daughters.

The police knew there was domestic abuse and mental illness there, but no one made sure the guns were locked up somewhere else.

I'm glad you did that for your father. You probably saved his life, even if you weren't allowed to share it with him.

[mountain grammy]

4. Powerful story.. it took courage to do what you did.

You probably did save lives, especially your father's.

[herding cats]

5. You're a strong person, and I admire you for your strength.

I just wanted to give you those kudos. You deserve them a million times over again for your courage, and caring.

[IronLionZion]

6. Who decides who is mentally ill?

This is very important if we are going to use this criteria to write legislation to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. We would have to address these types of issues if we are to have any progress.

So if family members feel unsafe can they report it? To who?

Does a doctor have to diagnose it? Which types of mental illness or all of them?

If a person has supposedly gotten better with treatment, then what?

Some people like to be high functioning and keep their job. Diagnoses and medication could endanger their job, which is a reason some might avoid seeking treatment. And then what to do about the guns then?

If someone already has guns, but are deemed dangerous or unstable and shouldn't have them. Then what? Are the police going to seize them? Can you imagine being the deputy who has to serve an order to seize weapons from a mentally ill or paranoid household? I would not want to be that cop.

[Hulk]

8. I wouldn't want to be the father of a child murdered by some mentally unstable person.

I know you aren't suggesting that, but it comes down to ruling out tragedies. Guns are NOT a necessary part of life. When someone is deemed mentally unstable, or has a history of violence; they should be removed. The police have a full plate already, but someone has to "serve and protect", and it seems like the duty falls to them, again.

Better safe than sorry. The sorry is a terrible price to have some innocent persons pay.

[IronLionZion]

13. Who is mentally unstable?

We don't have legally defined criteria. The argument could be made that people with depression are likely to commit suicide and shouldn't have guns. Yet, that is pretty much everyone at some point.

[gwheezie]

11. Yes the police will seize the weapons

The court orders the removal of guns but the person is already removed from the home.

[Hulk]

7. Well said.

My oldest sister is bi-polar as well, and has been off her meds for a few years now. She has totally cut ties with anyone outsider her home; and she and her husband are virtual prisoners in their home. I don't believe she has any weapons, but I'll never know. She isn't aggressive and seems like the type that would lash out and hurt someone, but if she had guns, it would be best to get that bomb out of the house in any case.

Sorry for your situation. You aren't alone, believe me.

[rusty quoin]

9. I'm just against guns.

[avaistheone1]

10. It has emerged that Christy Sheats had also spoken against gun control.

'It would be horribly tragic if my ability to protect myself or my family were to be taken away, but that's exactly what Democrats are determined to do by banning semi-automatic handguns,' she wrote on Facebook in March.

[RobinA]

12. Good Work With Your Father

As a mental health professional and a person who had an SO with bipolar, I think too many people don't understand the full extent of mental illness and what it does to people. They keep thinking things will get better, the worst will not happen, the person will change their ways, etc. Mental illness is relentless, mania in particular. The well person is not in control when the symptoms take over. This is very hard for people to grasp and they fall back on, "Well, he wasn't like that." "He was a nice person when he was on medication." "He wasn't violent."

It takes a very strong sense of self as well as a solid awareness of what can happen to take the kind of control you took with your father. Another issue that comes up with family members is I think people get used to the illness and learn to work around it. Guns in the house, family member with severe mental illness? All in a days work, it becomes "normal."

Although my SO died before he should have as a result of his illness, he knew he should not have a gun and thankfully stuck to that. Otherwise, I have no doubt he would have brandished at police at some point and been shot by them.