Adding the “mental health” section to the background checks is such a pithy gesture. It’s an easy thing for the administration to point to and say, “Look what we did!”

While it’s an improvement that people who’ve been ‘institutionalized’ for mental issues or people who the courts have said can’t manage their own affairs, it leaves an absolutely massive gap with people who are obviously unbalanced but untreated. Or who just haven’t been convicted. (Pleading down to disturbing the peace comes to mind.) Or who have the family and/or financial resources for private treatment. And then comes the HIPPA and medical privacy issues. (The Theater shooter comes to mind.)

I recently sold a gun through the classifieds and I seriously felt like I was doing something wrong. I went so far in covering my own rear as to photograph the license of the gentleman who purchased the gun for his wife as a secondary weapon for bow hunting. A situation no more innocuous than if I had sold him my microwave but yet all the hoopla has created an environment where gun owners have to worry if we’re doing something wrong…

It bothers me that you’d make such a blanket statement in regards to PTSD. I don’t believe it’s a fair argument to simply state that a veteran who has been diagnosed with PTSD should be tagged as mentally ill. I’d hope that the Guardian was not attempting to take a tragedy and turn it into agenda.

EDITOR NOTE–Jason, the GUARDIAN is also a vet. We are losing 22 vets a day to suicide alone. That’s a tragedy every 65 minutes according to the VA and many do themselves in with guns. The problem is certainly not limited to veterans, but it is easier for them to carry concealed in Idaho and that could be a danger to themselves as well as others. Coppers, sheriffs, courts, and mental health experts are all grappling with the problem and no one has an answer.

I might be full of crap but I try not to be:

Suicides: 22 a day is a lot, but what they didn’t say in that report is that rate is lower than the non-military rate. This economy has been very tough on the civilian wage-earners in America. Media does not report on suicides because it seems to cause more of them. Transition to civilian life can be very hard. In the military you might get shot at, but you have instructions and supervision for everything… including using a toilet. In civilian life you work completely without a net and it is scary it a whole new way.

PTSD: Like many other illnesses has a spectrum of severity from mild to profound. The question you are asking Editor is: Who is safe and sane to be packing and who is not. To answer that question you need much more than a diagnosis. The Obama administration’s fruitcake in charge of DHS has made statements about how she fears returning veterans… as did Joe Stalin. So I expect some federal action to label those they fear most.

Who’s packing: Unfortunately, I know and have met several people who pack but do not have the appropriate temperament for it. It’s as if they are looking for a reason to escalate, and are much too paranoid. While still others do not know the rules and think a CCP makes them a quasi Peace Officer. Then there are the truly special people who open-carry while doing yard work within a fenced yard in the safest neighborhood west of the Mississippi… then later that day are digging through the lawn-clippings because the gun fell out of the holster. This last group are the special people who sometimes get shot by their child or wife who finally snapped after years of living under the thumb of a nut-job.

My theory is DHS will be run by a different U.S. President before they are able to make any big lasting changes to gun laws. NRA is the big dog in that town. However, I also think too many ill-tempered, macho, middle-aged, sore-backed fat-guys, with a gun and a temper will eventually cause too many unnecessary shootings. Then the sheriffs will tighten things up even in dusty ol’ Idaho.

New to guns: I predict we’ll have a rash of stupid people accidentally or impulsively discharging the new toy they recently purchased. I also predict a bunch of CCP holders getting shot by the cops because they had a gun in their hand when the cops arrived… cops shoot at everyone with a gun, even other cops sometimes… it says in their report after the fact that they told you to drop it… but they have a dangerous job and you probably won’t have time.

Getting to hot out by the pool, time for a nap 😉

It troubles me that we might be requiring mental treatment professionals to report anyone who “may” be a danger to themselves or others (via proposed legislation). Even prior to prescribing common antidpressants, they give you a form and one of the questions is “have you ever had thoughts of harming yourself?” I would be very hesitant to be honest if I knew that answering honestly could get me on the federal “crazy” database. It cause many not to seek treatment at all.

As for vets getting guns without training, they are still required to pass the background check. I think that vets should be required to take the training–there is more to carrying concealed than knowing how to shoot safely and effectively. I got my permit in Idaho with no training (vet). I then got one for Utah… and learned a lot in the class. As an asided, I was in the Air Force from 69 to 73 and never fired a gun once! We went to the range in basic, but it was being repaired. We went through the motions and “dry fired.” We pretended.

Good article Guardian.
Good point about what is PTSD? Regardless of definition, it is reasonable anyone being treated for severe PTSD/depression ought to be limited from firearms, for their own safety until an evaluation clears their state of mind for an extended time period. Whether it is local government or their FRIENDS and FAMILY locking up the firearms for awhile. It is right along the lines of “Leave No One Behind”. That doesn’t stop when they get off the plane stateside. Same applies to LEO and first responders involved in the serious chaos of their jobs too.

County sheriffs ought to consider providing FFL background checks for private sales…as IdahoCrystal leads to selling privately is a risk. But if a seller could say, “meet me at the sheriffs office to do a background check” through their system, even with a $15 fee, that is something positive local law enforcement could do.
And from a buyer standpoint, I would like to know the gun Serial is not stolen. Of course a stolen gun is not likely to show up there, but if someone is not willing to use a Sheriff’s service of this, then I don’t want to buy it from them.

And gun shows NEED to be proactive-

One discussion that has been left out of the gun control debate and PTSD is drugs. Not illegal drugs, but prescribed medications, vaccines and supplements(non prescribed)
Has war fare really changed so much that our soldiers can’t deal with it anymore? War is stressful, far more than anyone except a veteran can understand. I do not believe that PTSD is caused solely by combat related issues anymore. I think the medications also have something to do with it. Yet, we hear little discussion about that detail.

Zippo,

I don’t think your numbers are correct. Military suicide rates for males are double the national numbers. Suicide is the leading cause of death for female veterans. I realize different studies made by different people may change the numbers slightly, but this seems to be fairly consistent.

http://deploymentpsych.org/topics-disorders/suicide

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/medical/health/medical/mentalhealth/story/2011/08/Suicide-attempts-higher-for-veterans-on-campus/49808298/1

I think they are buying all the ammo to make it harder for citizens to get. With companies filling huge orders like this it is going to be awhile until it is available in large supply again.

Nan, dog is actually a product of the vaunted Californis schools system.