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After a number of well-publicized attacks and killings in the past year, particularly in New York City, involving people with serious untreated mental illness, Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed expanding the involuntary commitment laws. These laws allow us to preemptively lock up potentially dangerous people with mental illness.

No question: These crimes are unsettling, and the fear they generate is very real. However, the involuntary commitment law is the least effective way to deal with violence committed by the mentally ill. It’s........

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