CNN Poll For Gun Purchase

[ronwill]

Do you think someone with a history of mental illness should be able to purchase guns?

CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News

[Brainchild]

It should depend on what their diagnosis was.
Obviously someone with a history of homocidal tendancies should not be allowed weapons...or close contact with other people.But who gets to decide what constitutes 'mental illness'?The 'experts' who rely largely on their own research? The courts that have a long history of infringing on,or outright stripping the rights of people who come through their courtroom? This seems like a left wing trap to me. However you vote,they will use it to take away someone's right to be armed,or to vilify that right entirely.
I won't vote on this one.

[DarrellM5]

I went for "yes, with tighter restrictions".

[Scarecrow]

It should depend on what their diagnosis was.
Obviously someone with a history of homocidal tendancies should not be allowed weapons...or close contact with other people.But who gets to decide what constitutes 'mental illness'?The 'experts' who rely largely on their own research? The courts that have a long history of infringing on,or outright stripping the rights of people who come through their courtroom? This seems like a left wing trap to me. However you vote,they will use it to take away someone's right to be armed,or to vilify that right entirely.
I won't vote on this one.

+1 I agree.. there is so much that could come into play..

[ricbak]

I thought No was appropriate for CNN, but in reality Brainchild is closer to the correct answer IMHO. My fear is that they will "Go After" PTSD Veterans.

[sandshill03]

should you pour gas on a fire?

[Canis-Lupus]

Chances are if a person's mental status/actions resulting from them have come to the attention of the state in which they live or manifest the problem passing thru another state, it may be a disqualifier for owning a gun or getting a concealed carry permit. States will report it to the NIC, so moving states just follows the person. Involuntary incarcerations in psychiatric facilities for more than 'X-days' (each state has it's own criteria) is normally disqualifying from owning a gun to (judged criminally insane) the right to anything but to be held indef and treated by that state, until judged sane enough to walk out of the doors (if that day ever happens), with mandatory out-patient follow-ups in most cases. They are normally any weapons no-gos after that. I wonder what the CNN poll would say about a citizen who drinks a '1/2 rack of beer a day' alcoholic who gets one gross misdemeanor/not a felony DUI then loses their DL for say 6 months and takes the bus to the range but gets to keep their shooter(s)? Or is self admitted to anger management counseling to say stop fighting with the spouse/kids, is that a disqualifier too? The idea of an NIC is to weed out those citizens who do not qualify by virtue of much more than mentality/personality/addictions/perversions, etc. We have hundreds of thousands of troops returning from 2 ongoing wars, and millions from wars that go back generations who both the DOD and VA have diagnosed with PTSD or other service connected psychiatric disorders ranging from minimal, treated and controlled or resolved to total and incapable of knowing right from wrong for life, somewhere along that sliding scale a Vet gets a gun if they stay cool, drink social/abstain, stay off street dope & take their prescribed antipsychotics if those meds allow them to lead normal lives, keep their jobs, take care of their families and pay their bills/taxes on time, get counseling or stay on a legal path, do we deny them the right to own or use semi-auto weapons when in service they were shooting full-auto muj mowing machines? Med for Vets? Hell no, a BIG disqualifier!!! Then just blanket ban guns from them all right? Cut out treating and rating them, just disarm them all. Ludicrous right? OK the non-Vet overweight civilians who takes meds for their heart/B.P., beta-blockers can have side effects like blacking-out to mood swings, do we deny a gun to a fat citizen trying to stay alive or tell them to lose weight then they can get a gun? If they black-out enough or gain more weight, I guess, why not? Ouch!
There are a whole gamut of psychological conditions from the Chuck Manson's of this planet to the folks who go to AA to stay sober who need (or may not need) a competency evaluation before they walk into a gun store or a range. Hey postpartum depression or menopause, I can think of a few gals I used to know who I wouldn't even say: 'How are you today Mrs. Smith?' unless I was wearing body armor! Transient condition. The guy who just got fired after 20 years of hard honest work for no good reason other than cut-backs & will now lose his home is not a fella I would want to cut off in traffic by accident if he's packing, funny a week ago he was a law-abiding cop or an IRS worker. CNN can run it's polls and I can vote: "Yes, with exceptions" then look at the results only to see the ignorance of owning guns & any psych anything ='s 80% voting "NO!" and realize just how foolish or brainwashed your average CNN viewer is, yet most love watching action movies or shows with other folks doing the gun-play. Think about it.

Canis-Lupus

[Red Hat]

The Poll is gone. This is the one there now.

"Is President Barack Obama, as Sen. John McCain says, off to "a bad beginning"?"

[wolfhunter]

The Poll is gone. This is the one there now.

"Is President Barack Obama, as Sen. John McCain says, off to "a bad beginning"?"

Now THAT's a poll I can answer. Only 32% say he is doing a bad job.

[Boomboy007]

The problem is that most of the people on this forum would be considered "mentally ill" because of our views on firearms.