Recently, a Texas Senator (Cornyn), the NRA, and a few other less-than-perceptive people (Bobby Jindal, hello!!) have endorsed strengthening a 'mental illnes' provision in the gun-grabber arsenal. This will include court-ordered psychiatric treatment.
Hmmmm.
So does that mean that Dinesh D'Souza will not be able to purchase or retain guns?
If one searches for recent news about D’Souza, one will find that a federal judge recently ordered him to undergo ongoing psychiatric treatment as a condition of his probation.
“Mr. D’Souza has weaknesses in controlling his own impulses and … is prone to anger in reaction to criticism,” the judge stated.
Really? Or was he too successful in criticizing Barack Obama?...
I'll take Door #2 anytime, although plausible deniability will be in play from the get-go.
Those who forget the past are doomed to re-live it. The Stalinists were notorious for imprisoning dissenters in 'mental hospitals' and declaring them to be mentally ill. Why should today's Stalinist-in-Chief be any different? It worked then and will work again, now, because defining 'mental illness' is sorta like defining 'up high.'
There's another question here which makes for interesting discussion. Can one distinguish 'mental illness' from 'prone to sin'? At what point?
Unfortunately, there can be no compromise on this issue. You're right: it would be very easy for a gun-control-oriented judge to disarm everyone who came before him, and for that matter for the administration to do so via its increased control over your health care. They could make psychological screening mandatory, and set up such a fine filter that almost no one can pass through it. This would be very easy to do via a ban on people with depression or suicidal tendencies from owning firearms 'for their own safety,' as almost everyone goes through periods of grief or sorrow that can be described as depressive.
ReplyDeleteSince there are no lab tests in psychology, you can't definitively prove the presence or absence of a mental illness. Once 'caught' by the filter, you could never prove your innocence -- not that you should have to prove your innocence in any case.
So, yes, it would be great if murderously crazy people could be kept away from guns. But, no, we can't accept a 'mental health' limitation on gun rights.