Veterans Blocked From Owning Firearms

[bmwrdr]

The veterans addressed in the article only needed assistance with their finances.
.

I guess the whole story relies on that one sentence, government assisting in finances.

[cb1000rider]

The veterans addressed in the article only needed assistance with their finances.

That's not the whole story, as cited above, the VA determined them to be disabled (typically PTSD) enough that they were not allowed to control their own finances anymore. And think about it, if a doc says they're mentally sideways enough that they can't make good financial decisions, who is going to OK firearm ownership?

Is that fair? No, it's about as unfair as it gets.

I'm NOT saying that the VA should get to make this call without due process. I am saying it's not as simple as it's made to sound - like there is a link between needing financial help and gun ownership.

Any time we have a system or process that results in some sort of action that could be punitive as a result of a mental evaluation, people are going to avoid the evaluation. It's exactly the same situation as that German Wings flight. That pilot knew that if he sought mental help treatment, that they'd pull his ticket and he wouldn't be able to make a living. So instead, we've got a really sick pilot that decided to fly everyone into the ground as he's didn't have enough personal accountability to get himself help.

I wonder how many vets are stuck not willing to ask for help due to repercussions? We've already seen some ask about PTSD and CHL on this forum.

[bmwrdr]

The veterans addressed in the article only needed assistance with their finances.

That's not the whole story, as cited above, the VA determined them to be disabled (typically PTSD) enough that they were not allowed to control their own finances anymore. And think about it, if a doc says they're mentally sideways enough that they can't make good financial decisions, who is going to OK firearm ownership?

Is that fair? No, it's about as unfair as it gets.

I'm NOT saying that the VA should get to make this call without due process. I am saying it's not as simple as it's made to sound - like there is a link between needing financial help and gun ownership.

Any time we have a system or process that results in some sort of action that could be punitive as a result of a mental evaluation, people are going to avoid the evaluation. It's exactly the same situation as that German Wings flight. That pilot knew that if he sought mental help treatment, that they'd pull his ticket and he wouldn't be able to make a living. So instead, we've got a really sick pilot that decided to fly everyone into the ground as he's didn't have enough personal accountability to get himself help.

I wonder how many vets are stuck not willing to ask for help due to repercussions? We've already seen some ask about PTSD and CHL on this forum.

I agree with your statement but the rate is pretty high. If any individual, not just veterans, has mental issues there should be a limitation imposed but I think the number of civilians with mental issues, addictions and alcohol problems is pretty high too and there is no control at all. The veterans are a group of people which are monitored and denied a CHL but in reality they can still buy a firearm?

The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System has a mentally defective category that is almost completely filled with veterans – 99.3% to be exact. The names are supplied by the VA from a list of veterans who required bookkeeping services.

In other terms, the group of people in the list includes 99.3% of veterans and 0.7% others. In my opinion this is half a job, targeting a group, the veterans in this case and leaving out the majority.
I am not anti government opinioned but I think a better job could be done by including drug, alcohol and mental evaluation of all and not just a particular group. Quiet frankly, addressing just a group amounts to discrimination.

[mojo84]

I think many are overlooking this fact that was pointed out in the original post.

almost completely filled with veterans – 99.3% to be exact.

If you stop and think about it, that is pretty darn close to 100%.

[bmwrdr]

I think many are overlooking this fact that was pointed out in the original post.

almost completely filled with veterans – 99.3% to be exact.

If you stop and think about it, that is pretty darn close to 100%.

And being a "honorable discharged" veteran I can assure you government support does not equal to financial help. They are takers and not givers by definition.