12-21-2012, 12:07 PM
These are the categories of people who are prohibited from owning and purchasing guns under the current gun control regulations. Weeding out gun applications submitted by anyone in these categories is what the background check (using the NCIS central database) is designed to accomplish.
•Convicted felons
•People convicted of domestic assault or abuse
•People under indictment for felony charges
•People with outstanding misdemeanor or felony warrants
•Illegal immigrants
•Dishonorably discharged veterans from the military
•The mentally ill or insane
Except for the last 3, applicants falling into any of the other categories can be flagged quickly because there is legal documentation of such which is directly fed into databases. Illegal immigrants can also quickly be flagged via wrong/non-existent social security numbers. The names of dishonorably charged veterans were gathered back in the 90s, retroactively entered, and new ones are now accessible as part of the automatic check systems as a result of the Brady Bill, I believe.
The "mentally ill or insane" classification is, by far, the weakest point in the background checking control, imo. Mentally ill don't always seek treatment; there is no record of them being mentally ill or insane. Even for the mentally ill that have been treated and documented as such, poor medical documentation, privacy acts in some states and HIPAA (as Tiki pointed out) make it much more difficult to obtain that data, much less centralize it. So, the NCIS database of those with mental illnesses is a mere fraction of the actual population that falls into that category. And, there's no control that exists to keep the mentally ill (documented or undocumented) from getting ahold of weapons via an irresponsible gun owner who knowingly allows them access (which was the case with Adam Lanza, imo).
Anyway, I like the concept of a holistic approach and mult-agency effort to address not only gun laws and the shortfalls in current gun control as it relates to mental illness, but also the many other potential contributors to gun violence which have nothing to do with the guns themselves nor mental illness. I think a lot of those potential contributors (societal and other) have been put forth by posters here and they've made valid points.
"It's a complex problem that requires more than one solution," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday. "It calls for not only re-examining our gun laws and how well we enforce them, but also for engaging mental health professionals, law enforcement officials, educators, parents and communities to find those solutions."
Hoping the politicians can manage to stick to the intent of that agenda. If so, maybe the January proposals will truly include measures by which to reduce gun violence and fatalities through a combination of changes that address the root of the problem. JMO...
P.s. Thanks for the good info, F.U.
I didn't know that some of those who would otherwise be prohibited from owning a gun can purchase hunting rifles - that's disturbing.
•Convicted felons
•People convicted of domestic assault or abuse
•People under indictment for felony charges
•People with outstanding misdemeanor or felony warrants
•Illegal immigrants
•Dishonorably discharged veterans from the military
•The mentally ill or insane
Except for the last 3, applicants falling into any of the other categories can be flagged quickly because there is legal documentation of such which is directly fed into databases. Illegal immigrants can also quickly be flagged via wrong/non-existent social security numbers. The names of dishonorably charged veterans were gathered back in the 90s, retroactively entered, and new ones are now accessible as part of the automatic check systems as a result of the Brady Bill, I believe.
The "mentally ill or insane" classification is, by far, the weakest point in the background checking control, imo. Mentally ill don't always seek treatment; there is no record of them being mentally ill or insane. Even for the mentally ill that have been treated and documented as such, poor medical documentation, privacy acts in some states and HIPAA (as Tiki pointed out) make it much more difficult to obtain that data, much less centralize it. So, the NCIS database of those with mental illnesses is a mere fraction of the actual population that falls into that category. And, there's no control that exists to keep the mentally ill (documented or undocumented) from getting ahold of weapons via an irresponsible gun owner who knowingly allows them access (which was the case with Adam Lanza, imo).
Anyway, I like the concept of a holistic approach and mult-agency effort to address not only gun laws and the shortfalls in current gun control as it relates to mental illness, but also the many other potential contributors to gun violence which have nothing to do with the guns themselves nor mental illness. I think a lot of those potential contributors (societal and other) have been put forth by posters here and they've made valid points.
"It's a complex problem that requires more than one solution," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday. "It calls for not only re-examining our gun laws and how well we enforce them, but also for engaging mental health professionals, law enforcement officials, educators, parents and communities to find those solutions."
Hoping the politicians can manage to stick to the intent of that agenda. If so, maybe the January proposals will truly include measures by which to reduce gun violence and fatalities through a combination of changes that address the root of the problem. JMO...
P.s. Thanks for the good info, F.U.
I didn't know that some of those who would otherwise be prohibited from owning a gun can purchase hunting rifles - that's disturbing.