Psychological capacity to own a gun?

Originally Posted by mkodama

I would think anyone that was legally required to seek mental help would be a way of classifying people as loons.

So we leave each and every decision of a person's ability to own a firearm to a judge, that spent 2 minutes with the individual in front of them? Judges issue anger management classes every day to people that got drunk and got in a fight. There's no way a judge could come close to accurately assessing a suspect's mental state. I licensed professional could barely assess someone, and even at that it's their opinion, not science.

Originally Posted by mkodama

I would think anyone that was legally required to seek mental help would be a way of classifying people as loons.

I'm hesitant on this as well.

You lose your job and while they are escorting you out you kick your desk. At which point they call the police.

It gets overblown but you are just sentenced to anger management. Do you now no longer have a 2nd amendment right?

This is why this subject becomes very difficult. It opens the door to strip regular people of their rights unnecessarily.

Forget that. Say we do it your way....to get a gun, you need to sit down with a government appointed psycho expert and he can "psychologize" you. Now, are those same loons that you are trying to keep the guns away from incapable of sitting still for a few minutes and answer questions "correctly"....only to go apesh!t 35 minutes later?

Originally Posted by JonJon

"Anyone"? That's a pretty broad stroke


I'm not saying that there aren't people that shouldn't have guns. I'm simply asking what the measurement is
Who decides?

I was responding to your 2 post (I believe) that stated that anyone not unstable enough to be in jail should have all rights. I'm simply disagreeing with you there and saying I recognize that there are people who shouldn't be in jail but also should not have all rights.

But I agree with you. "Who decides" is the major hurdle. Losing your rights is nothing to take lightly.

Originally Posted by Devious21

I'm hesitant on this as well.

You lose your job and while they are escorting you out you kick your desk. At which point they call the police.

It gets overblown but you are just sentenced to anger management. Do you now no longer have a 2nd amendment right?

This is why this subject becomes very difficult. It opens the door to strip regular people of their rights unnecessarily.

exactly... Put laws in place and they WILL be abused.

Originally Posted by Devious21

I was responding to your 2 post (I believe) that stated that anyone not unstable enough to be in jail should have all rights. I'm simply disagreeing with you there and saying I recognize that there are people who shouldn't be in jail but also should not have all rights.

But I agree with you. "Who decides" is the major hurdle. Losing your rights is nothing to take lightly.

Not the way this country works my friend. Unless you have a documented mental issue (ie palsy, mental retardation, etc) the government does not have the power to strip you of any rights, which goes back to JJs sig....this freedom requires that we deal with the few apples that fall through the cracks.

Trying to predict what every person will do with a gun is impossible. Helping their needs that possibly fueled their actions is all we can do.

Right now, Any felony and drug related/voilent misdemeanors will strip your 2nd amendment right from you. So if a mentally unstable person has a history of violence, they already cannot own a gun.

If this was the person's first violent action and it was with a gun, it couldn't have really been stopped. That's all the more reason we should try to help all mentally ill people and not just restrict rights from the ones we think are dangerous. Especially considering that the recent shooting from mentally ill people didn't purchased the guns they used anyway. In both cases they were stolen.

Criminals don't follow laws.

Originally Posted by NFRs2000nyc

Not the way this country works my friend. Unless you have a documented mental issue (ie palsy, mental retardation, etc) the government does not have the power to strip you of any rights, which goes back to JJs sig....this freedom requires that we deal with the few apples that fall through the cracks.

Well it IS how the country works. I was objecting to the idea that we live or would want to live in a black and white world where mentally ill are either in jail or have all rights.

Your example of documented mental issues confirms that there are mentally ill people that don't have the 2nd amendment but aren't in jail.

Originally Posted by Devious21

Well it IS how the country works. I was objecting to the idea that we live or would want to live in a black and white world where mentally ill are either in jail or have all rights.

Your example of documented mental issues confirms that there are mentally ill people that don't have the 2nd amendment but aren't in jail.

We don't have the authority to MANDATE someone to checked out...thats the point. Those that are already documented with mental issues are not being discussed here.

Originally Posted by NFRs2000nyc

We don't have the authority to MANDATE someone to checked out...thats the point. Those that are already documented with mental issues are not being discussed here.

Well you're responding to my response to JonJon's 1st post (not 2nd sorry), where I believe he his comment was a little over the top. I believe you just took me out of context but that IS what was being discussed when you quoted me.

I don't believe we differ in opinion. Simply of what was being discussed when you quoted me.