Should we allow people with known mental problems to buy guns?

Question

ignorance is not a valid excuse...

I have asked many questions in the same TOPIC, but NOT the same question. if you are one of the trolls trying to reprot me for not agrteeing with you, I will know who to thank later. Answer the damn question!

Answer 1

There are currently laws on the books for this. In fact you are NOT allowed to buy a gun if you have confirmed diagnosed mental issues.

The problem with the VT kid was that the Doctor who evaluated him did not think he was enough of a threat to others to take the next step, and force him into retention.

The main problem is that there are MANY mental illnesses, most of which are benign, however, the ones that can result in the VT type of action are hard to diagnose, and many times Doctors are not willing to stick their neck out to retain someone and mark the rest of their lives with that.

These types of problems are rampant in our society, and many of them can be traced back to us becoming an over litigious society, and political correctness gone too far.

The doctor may not want to take on the lawsuit that will result if he is wrong in the long run, nor do they want to lose their practice because someone blames them of being a racist because of a diagnoses.

The problems are intricate. However, in the end the system can only do so much, and the person must be left to blame. That is, in a free society, like the great one we live in, you must allow bad people to do bad things, to save the freedom we so cherish.

Could the mental clause be stronger with regard to buying guns? Yes. However, that means that a LOT more people would be diagnosed incorrectly, and hence have their rights taken away.

We should never govern to suit the exception, but to instead protect the majority.

Answer 2

No they shouldn't, but the Civil Liberties groups have pretty much put a block on revealing a persons mental health background. You are not allowed to buy a gun in most states if you have ever been legally ruled mentally incompetent or have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution. The psychiatrist that saw the VT killer could have prevented the legal purchase of the weapons by sending the man to an institution for just one day and yet did not. However, the way this thing was clearly pre-meditated is a strong indication that the guns would have been procured by some means if not at a store.

Answer 3

Not if you know about it. Although we do allow people with mental problems to vote, drive cars, hold jobs, have kids, and get married. I guess that explains why we have a Democrat party, why elected officials even talk about gun control, why political correctness on college campus' lead to inaction when dealing with crazies who are not white. There is no easy solution to this. Maybe mandating 5 to 6 hours a day of FOX news could be a good start, but most lunies don't have the mental capacity for the truth

Answer 4

Years ago, when i was actively involved in target shooting, I recall the process included a background check, and one of the questions was on mental health. Current law (HIPA) does not permit health care providers to supply medical information without the express consent of the patient.
I think that purchasing a handgun should include the standard HIPA relase form to by used by the State Police in their background check.

I recently filled out such a form, and it allows you to specify what type of information can be released, and you can specify mental health without giving up your privacy where other medical issues are concerned.

Answer 5

Would you please go read something and quit asking the same stupid propaganda questions. Ask a real question for crying out loud.

If you don't know, and you should before coming here, is that it is illegal for this man to own a weapon. However here is the glitch, his medical records are not reviewed, some democrat did not want him discriminated against because he was mentally unstable, and therefore no one could find out if he was nuts.

Thanks to the democrats and their quest for reverse discrimination, 33 people are dead.

Additionally hichef, you have asked in essence the same question six times, that is either spam or propaganda. Do you believe Y!A is a place for that, were you aware that what you do is against the rules? Do you care?

Answer 6

There isn't a way to prove that someone has known mental problems. HIPAA protects your medical records from being released to the public. Therefore, someone's history of mental illness is not public record unless they have died, or unless that mental illness is court-ordered or connected to a violent crime.

The records of someone who was put into the hospital for a few weeks for depression aren't public.

Answer 7

No, we shouldn't. The sad thing in all of this is is that when Cho was brought before a judge with the possibility of being committed in late 2005 that the judge found he did not meet the requirements of being a danger to himself and to the community, even though it was the opinion of the clinic he was brought to by campus police that he actually did.

Had he been committed, it would have shown up on his background check, which would have stopped his purchase of the Glock.

Answer 8

"Mental problems" - that's too suggestive, dependent on the beholder -- and that's why laws limiting gun possession should be limited themselves. You don't want your freedoms dependent on some government official(s) who has different views than you or maybe even has it in for you. Our freedoms don't come from government, they come from God (or nature, if you will). Everyone has a right to protect him/herself from evil, whether it's in the form of an intruder, a campus gunman, or a tyrannical government (and by the way, the last one is the reason for the Second Amendment - not hunting or even intruders, like some people will have you believe -- our forefathers knew the effects of tyrannical government). Also, gun laws don't stop the bad people from getting guns -- they only stop law-abiding citizens! That's why we call them "criminals"!

Answer 9

No.
The Federal NICS form he had to fill out asks if you if you have a history of mental illness.
He broke Federal law by lying on the form.
The Feds failed by overlooking his mental illness history and giving him the OK to purchase when the form was called in.

Answer 10

Depending on the severity or the problem. I know a man who is mentally handicapped yet they allow him to drive and have a hunting license. He is capable of making the right decisions. I would go hunting with him any day...