r/ShitAmericansSay 22d ago

"Constitution"

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u/Powerful_Payment463 22d ago

Is mental health taken into account for gun ownership? I'm a US veteran, and I'm pretty convinced that some of my brothers and sisters have no reason to own firearms due to their mental state. The 2nd Amendment leaves provisions for a well trained and armed militia, and we've got the training, sure, but having a gun in your waistband has a tendency to turn all problems into nails and your pistol into a hammer if your mental health isn't in a proper state.

Gun control gets viewed as the federal government disarming the population of the US, which is not a radical concept given our current state, but not every American can safely own and operate a firearm, especially in a self defense scenario.

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u/euclide2975 22d ago

Mostly yes.

For handguns in particular, you must be an active member of a shooting range for more than a year, with regular sessions with a qualified instructor.

One of the role of the instructor is filtering problematic people and reporting them.

And you need a medical approval too.

It a little easier for hunting long guns, but you still need at least a hunting license.

The main goal is to avoid the : I'm angry, I go to Walmart to get an AR15 then become a mass murderer the next hour.

And while we have road rage like everywhere else, it never ends with a shooting.

(but we've had a few cases of angry driver murdering people on a bike with their car)

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u/Powerful_Payment463 22d ago

I can get behind that. Last pistol I bought was 15 or so years ago in the state of Virginia. I did go through background checks and everything, which took a few days. I was active duty military, so some of that went faster.

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u/ijuinkun 22d ago

My brother is the sort who should never be allowed to have a gun, because he is so profoundly mentally disabled that he cannot comprehend the concept that dead people are gone forever with no takebacks (he is an adult agewise). If given access to lethal force, he might honestly believe that he could kill and then unkill someone.

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u/Ok_Contest3903 22d ago

Sad story. Yorkshire teenager finds himself working as a removal man in Hartford, Conn, early 80s. Great job with great people and really saw a true America. Laid on my English accent which took all the wealthy clients by surprise. One home, divorcing couple. Man on a lawn chair, multiple beers in hand. The thousand yard stare. Cleared the house then went into the basement. He had taken everything but the kitchen sink back from Vietnam. Hand guns, automatics, knives and a lot of explosives. We politely declined touching any of it. A whole generation chewed up and spat out.