I was waiting for this to come out.

The problem I think is that mental illness is painted with too broad a stroke of the brush. Sure, people with mental illness are more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators. But does that mean that Loughner was not mentally ill? The evidence certainly points to some form of mental instability.

Sure, media perception of mental illness is wildly off the mark. Anyone with any sort of mental illness is grouped into the whole. But as a contributing factor, it needs to be taken into account, especially if the evidence points that way. The vast majority of mentally ill people are not violent, like the vast majority of gun owners do not kill people with their guns. Does that mean it should not be pointed out in the cases where they do?