Friday, December 21, 2012

LaPIerre: Database of the Mentally Ill?

Head runnion of the NRA W. LaPierre is apparently calling for a database of the mentally ill as a means of thwarting would be mass-murderers. The idea I suppose is to exclude the mentally ill from owning firearms.

OK, I'll play. Ten per cent of Americans are on anti-depressants. Others have various other issues which could be considered mental illness. PTSD, anxiety disorders, autism, addictions, and so on.

I'm not sure LaPierre has thought this one through.



9 comments:

Robert G. Harvie, Q.C. said...

Sooo..

Is that a "yay" or a "nay" to the plan?

One would imagine that going with that would also be a more complete background search requirement - ie) closing "gun show" loop holes.

Keeping in mind that it wouldn't have done anything in the Newtown case..unless the search includes immediate family members.

Boris said...

I'm leaving it open as to a yay or nay. I mean, a plan like that might actually remove guns from tens of millions of people given the rates of diagnosed mental illness in the US. Then again, I abhor the idea of centralised lists of the mentally ill.

Also, my problem with background checks is that they aren't psychological evaluations.

Holly Stick said...

First to go on the database should be NRA members. No guns for them until they prove they are not nuts.

Beijing York said...

I hate the privacy invasion aspect of the proposition but that said, I could see 2 possible outcomes. First, the number of people disqualified for gun ownership would be in the hundreds of thousands if not more (depending on how broadly mental illness is defined). That in turn could reduce the penchant for over-diagnosis and over-prescription. The pharmaceuticals and gun manufacturers could battle it out in trying to protect their shrinking markets.

Steve said...

Ten percent seems way low to me. Wishes for a great Christmas to the Beaver crew, and thanks for another great year of ink stained sustinance.

Evil Brad said...

Agreed with Holly Stick. Anyone who really believes that privately owned firearms are some sort of constitutional safeguard that should be immune to regulation is nuts. Seriously.

Edstock said...

When you consider that something like 20% of the adult population should be getting some kind of therapy for headspace problems, the registration details and interview required to get an acquisition permit in Canada are a fine idea.

The problem for the US is that it is knee-deep in firearms already. Non-compliance with any Canadian-type legislation will be felt to be a patriotic attitude. You can't arrest every redneck in Alabama or Texas.

sinned34 said...

You can't arrest every redneck in Alabama or Texas.

Why not? Many American right-wingers think they can arrest every pot smoker in the country or deport every "illegal" Mexican.

Rev.Paperboy said...

Let me get this straight: the NRA vehemently opposes registering any and all deadly weapons because that would be an intrusive measure by a government overstepping its constitutional authority, but they are totally okay with the same government putting together a registry of humans. Okay, so its is a consistent progression from " guns don't kill people, people kill people" to " don't register guns, register people" -- belonging to the NRA ought to automatically put you on a list of the mentally ill.