Do any gun control advocates here share this sentiment about gun restrictions...

[nclib]

...for people with mental health disorders?

Not saying I oppose it, but some mental illnesses don't necessarily imply an increased risk for violence. Could that be a civil rights issue (given that gun ownership is considered a right, regardless of whether or not it should be), and possibly slippery slope onto rights the left supports...

[Beet]

I agree that the criteria shouldn't just be "mental health disorder." It can only be a factor if increased risk for violence can be measured basically independently of whether the person has an official DSM-IV condition. The Colorado shooter definitely would have fit-- it wasn't that he had a mental health issue, but that the psychiatrist specifically warned the school he might be a danger to others.

[Free Palestine]

I think it's pretty discriminatory to ban someone from having a gun just because they have a mental disorder.  That really is like banning someone from having a gun just for being black.  The only difference is that ableism is sort of seen as being okay.

But then again, I'm pro-gun as hell.

[dead0man]

I agree that the criteria shouldn't just be "mental health disorder." It can only be a factor if increased risk for violence can be measured basically independently of whether the person has an official DSM-IV condition. The Colorado shooter definitely would have fit-- it wasn't that he had a mental health issue, but that the psychiatrist specifically warned the school he might be a danger to others.

This is the correct response.  Crazy people who have violent tendencies shouldn't be allowed to have guns.  A broad brush of banning guns from anybody that's considered seeing a shrink would be wrong.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I agree that the criteria shouldn't just be "mental health disorder." It can only be a factor if increased risk for violence can be measured basically independently of whether the person has an official DSM-IV condition. The Colorado shooter definitely would have fit-- it wasn't that he had a mental health issue, but that the psychiatrist specifically warned the school he might be a danger to others.

This is the correct response.  Crazy people who have violent tendencies shouldn't be allowed to have guns.  A broad brush of banning guns from anybody that's considered seeing a shrink would be wrong.

and would discourage people from seeking help.

[Torie]

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How much do you know about mental illness?  In any event, that word you inserted, "necessarily," kind of gives one cold comfort. Sure the dude can have a gun, because he may not necessarily kill me. Great!

Oh, my opinion. Sickies should not have guns. Period. Thanks.  

[Link]

...for people with mental health disorders?

Not saying I oppose it, but some mental illnesses don't necessarily imply an increased risk for violence. Could that be a civil rights issue (given that gun ownership is considered a right, regardless of whether or not it should be), and possibly slippery slope onto rights the left supports...

This is a strawman.  Lay people use the word "crazy" in a very broad kind of useless way.  Diagnosable mental illness is something that must meet very specific criteria as laid out in the DSM IV.  No expert would advise lawmakers to make a blanket prohibition on guns for people with a mental illness.  For heaven sake body dysmorphic disorder is diagnosable mental illness.  You can't ban someone from gun ownership simply because they got one too many boob jobs.

If someone is obsessive about cleaning their gun, making sure it's unloaded, and making sure it's locked up then someone like that with OCD would in my opinion be the perfect candidate for gun ownership.

[John Dibble]

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How much do you know about mental illness?  In any event, that word you inserted, "necessarily," kind of gives one cold comfort. Sure the dude can have a gun, because he may not necessarily kill me. Great!

Oh, my opinion. Sickies should not have guns. Period. Thanks.  

He knows more than you apparently. Being mentally ill is not the same thing as being psychotic. Statistics indicate that on average people with mental illnesses are no more violent than most people. Are you not aware that mental illness includes things like ADHD - are people with that condition "sickies" who shouldn't have guns?

By the way, a clinically sane person who you are apparently fine with allowing to have a gun might not necessarily kill you.

[Torie]

Yes, I equate being mentally ill with being psychotic, and if not psychotic, I guess I would need to know exactly how you define mental illness. I appreciate that the Second Amendment is on the books (and agree with how it has been interpreted) but really don't support it. I think having a gun should be a privilege, not a right, and who has them should be strictly a prudential matter.

[John Dibble]

Yes, I equate being mentally ill with being psychotic, and if not psychotic, I guess I would need to know exactly how you define mental illness.

I define it how the medical community does, like a sensible person.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mental-illness/DS01104

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_disorder

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If I want to specify that a person is psychotic, I'd say they were psychotic.

[Torie]

OK, you win. I oppose psychotics having guns. If that includes me, I don't give a damn.  I don't own a gun, and don't have any plans to.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

OK, you win. I oppose psychotics having guns. If that includes me, I don't give a damn.  I don't own a gun, and don't have any plans to.

Amen.  I dont' want a guy mainlining testy with a gun.......

[nclib]

FTR, I would certainly oppose psychotics having guns (separate from the broader gun rights issue, where of course I support many forms of gun control). My point was about lumping all mental health conditions together as a determinant of gun ownership.