The Perils of Focusing on Mental Health and Firearms

HotAir.com has an article this morning titled Aaron Alexis and the Gun Control Mental Health Dodge.  He points to the peril in the mental health argument and how the gun ban lobby may have found an end run around simple gun control.

Better and more accessible care for the truly mentally ill is a worthwhile goal, and one which should be pursued. (And Kelly Ayotte already has a plan to do so without infringing anyone’s Second Amendment rights.) But we need to stand firm against any proposed federal legislation which purports to make everyone safer by keeping guns out of the hands of (or confiscating them from!!!) the mentally ill. That last sentence is sure to set the hair of many liberals afire, but there’s a reason for this sense of caution. You see, we already know where that path leads because we’ve seen the terminus of it in the state of New York, and it’s a nightmare.

Shaw is referring to what happened after the "NY Safe Act" became law when a man was confronted by police at the front door of his home and having his guns confiscated under threat of arrest.

The reason for the showdown was that authorities had mistaken him for somebody else who had committed the sin of seeking medical help and receiving medication for depression at one point in the past.

Shaw concludes that the nation already has a system in place for defining those who are too "deranged" to own firearms, that involves having people adjudicated as such in a court of law with the opportunity to defend themselves and challenge the finding if they wish.  We need to gaurd against any law that purports to protect all of us by further expanding who is mentally ill.  If the gun ban lobby had their way, they would classify anyone who wants to own a firearm as "mentally ill."

Hat tip to VSSA's Executive Director who forwarded the Hotair.com article.