mental health

[Bezoar]

They have the mental health rule for handgun owner ship that has alot of soldiers with PTSD unable to get a handgun. What about if your in the military and sent to a therapist?

say your bunkmate has the idea your depressed because for the last week you havnt been happy with your fiancee cuz you think shes cheating on ya. HE reports you as a potential Suicide risk, and you get sent to a therapist for a bit.

IS that gonna be a big red flag to getting a handgun?

 

[Creature]

Seriously doubt it.

 

[kingpin008]

You should really do a search, this has been discussed many, many times here.

The way the new law is written, anyone who is red-flagged will be notified of such, and given the opportunity to appeal at the Government's expense. If/when they are found to be eligible, the change must be recorded in the appropriate spots within 30 days.

Long story short - it doesn't disqualify anyone who already is approved. It just improves/expands the records that are available, and that were supposed to be available in the first place. There are appeals procedures in place should an individual be flagged.

ALSO - the flags that will show up that are in any way different than what may show up currently, are for instances where an individual is deemed "mentally defective" in some way. That means that a court has to find you nutty, not your bunkmate or an ex-wife, or a neighbor who wants to get you back for letting your dog poop on his lawn. It's not like that. And even if it was, there are multiple ways to appeal the decision.

 

[GigaBuist]

They have the mental health rule for handgun owner ship that has alot of soldiers with PTSD unable to get a handgun.

Who is "They?"

If you're referring to the federal government I'm not aware of anything in NICS working differently for handguns than long guns.

 

[scout26]

see this thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=324830

 

[Sunray]

"...bunkmate has the idea your depressed...HE reports you as a potential Suicide risk..." 'HE' would have to be a qualified professional to make any kind of risk assessment. Mind you, if a troopie is flapping his gums about killing himself, should be reported. The military medical types would then make the assessment. The military tends to keep medical records very secure though. The only way the rest of the world would hear about a troopie being treated for anything is if said troopie was released for medical reasons. The military would likely not release the reason for said release though.
However, in some places, just being treated is enough to be flagged. Said treatment requires being locked up, not just talking to a shrink.

 

[Thin Black Line]

NCOs, 1SGs, and CDRs often make informal referrals for a soldier to get help.
This does not "flag" the soldier in any way and leaves the assessment of the
soldier to the medical professionals (in theater this is typically to a CSC unit).
This is a good example of leadership taking care of their soldiers and nipping
a problem in the bud early on.

Of course, the soldier has a right to refuse the advice to get treatment. In
fact, if they are pressured, threatened, etc, by their superiors --or if the
mental health referral is completely unwarranted and is being used to "punish"
the soldier, then that soldier needs to find a military lawyer. However, if this
is a formal command referral, then the soldier will have the chance to speak
w/ a legal rep but they must still get the assessment.

Getting an assessment does not equal a flag. In theater the mental health
officers are often not part of the same chain of command as the unit that
refers the soldier --even if they reside on the same FOB. This allows the
medical officers a certain amount of independence and freedom from coercion
themselves in making an honest assessment.

Bottom line is if someone needs help, they need help.