Gun control and the mentally ill

[ZMP_CTR]

Gun control and the mentally ill
Star-Telegram

Mentally ill people aren't supposed to be able to buy guns from federally licensed dealers. The FBI's instant background check system is supposed to prevent it. But most states, including Texas, don't supply the names of people who have been forced to get mental health treatment. Now the U.S. House has approved a bill that would require states to participate; it awaits Senate consideration. The Justice Department is also urging state attorneys general to participate, stateline.org has reported. Texas officials have cited privacy issues for not providing information. The other side of the argument: The system might have kept a gun out of Virginia Tech shooter Seung Hui Cho's hands if Virginia had reported his name.

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Aren't random acts of violence, well, random?
I'm not advocating that we do nothing, however, if someone wants to buy a gun, they are going to buy a gun. If they don't get them in a store, then all they have to do is open up the newspaper and flip back to the classifieds.

 

[Guitargod1985]

As long as the person was declared mentally ill by a judge (due process), yes. I don't think someone that any quack shrink can diagnose as "clinically depressed" or "OCD" or "ADD" should be disqualified from exercising a right which they have done nothing to forfeit (which is what HR 1022 has the potential to do). This "any other lawful authority" garbage in HR 1022 could so easily be construed to include psychiatrists, guidance counselors, etc. depending upon the administration's disposition. This would further ignore the whole "shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness without due process of law" part of that historic document we all know and love.

 

[mrmeval]

"Anyone who wants a gun is mentally unfit."
I suspect you could ask that to a group pshrinks and that would be the response for a large portion of them.

 

[Riverblue]

The problem is, who defines "mentally ill"? According to the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, used to diagnose individuals in treatment), one definition of "mentally ill" could be if one is addicted to caffeine. (Substance abuse). I think only certain types of mental illness should be considered a bar to ownership of a gun, those types which have been shown to have a connection to the tendency to commit violent crime. This should be taken into consideration with the person's whole history. But then, we might start having the government too involved in our personal lives for my taste.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

The DSM?

The DSM is not science, it's consensus.

They VOTE on what "disorders" and "syndromes" get added as "mental illness."

Vote??

Arrrgh!

 

[JohnBT]

"consensus"

Medical doctors do it too. Example, chronic fatigue syndrome. From the CDC site:

"The cause or causes of CFS have not been identified and no specific diagnostic tests are available. Moreover, since many illnesses have incapacitating fatigue as a symptom, care must be taken to exclude other known and often treatable conditions before a diagnosis of CFS is made. "