I've noticed that in addition to the "have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective or been committed to a mental institution" question that is on a registration form, there's also the verbal question (at least in California) of "have you ever been a patient in a mental institution?"
Are those verbal questions only in California, or in other states, too? There's a big difference between having been in a mental institution voluntarily to seek help and having been committed to one. As far as I know, there's no law against gun ownership for having been in a mental institution voluntarily. Why the verbal question, then? What would happen if somebody answered "no" to the written question and "yes" to the verbal question?
Are those verbal questions only in California, or in other states, too? There's a big difference between having been in a mental institution voluntarily to seek help and having been committed to one. As far as I know, there's no law against gun ownership for having been in a mental institution voluntarily. Why the verbal question, then? What would happen if somebody answered "no" to the written question and "yes" to the verbal question?