General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: My family is not "shielding" a dangerous person and I will not tolerate those who imply otherwise [View all]gwheezie
(3,580 posts)but they fight background checks for all gun sales? Good grief, are we supposed to "turn in"family members who have never demonstrated any violence towards others to satisfy the nra trying to avoid more gun legislation? I have taken care of some folks who should not have access to weapons, yet gun rights groups start foaming at the mouth when you want to include access to weapons in a health assessment. I frankly don't understand any logic behind the statements made by some gun rights advocates, as far as I can tell they want some kind of data base of the mentally ill, yet they don't want law enforcement or healthcare professionals to ask if someone has access to guns, yet they don't want the government to know who owns a gun, yet they want to know if mentally ill people own a gun? Does any of this make sense to anyone? And these open carry folks walking around shopping malls would be the 1st to scream like a stuck pig if a cop asked them what the heck they're up to. How are we going to protect society from dangerous people if we can't find out who is buying guns? The nra and gun groups are not that stupid, they say nonsensical things to divert attention to a group they can scapegoat.
I have worked with mentally ill people for decades and I have a family member who is bipolar, there are a handful of people I've met in that capacity who actually even want a gun. The mentally ill are citizens who also have rights to not be placed on a data base list based on a diagnosis. How could anyone who supports the 2nd amendment agree with Wayne Lapierre when he supports a data base of the mentally ill? I find that terrifying. He didn't clarify people adjudicated by a court where they have their rights protected, he says a database of mentally ill people.
We need more legislation to restrict the sale of guns and we need better mental health care, I don't see how you do one without the other.