Proposes to expand mental health definitions and violate rights...
Nobody wants those who are a danger to themselves or others to possess firearms or other weapons. Based on a long history of supporting gun control, it is clear that neither the head of ATF & DOJ, Attorney General Eric Holder or his boss, President Obama want even sane Americans to bear effective weapons that enable them to defend themselves and their families.
This makes it unsurprising that they are now proposing to expand the definition of “mental defective” and “committed to a mental institution” to capture more Americans, most of whom pose no danger to themselves or others. Spurred by Obama’s Executive Order, the ATF is now proposing changes that will increase the number of prohibited persons under federal law by expanding the statutory definitions of both “mental defective” and “committed to a mental institution.”
Expansion of “committed to an institution” is the most problematic feature of ATF’s proposal. In 1996 the ATF defined this phrase as: “A formal commitment of a person to a mental institution by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority. The term includes a commitment to a mental institution involuntarily, and for mental defectiveness or mental illness. It also includes commitments for other reasons, such as for drug use. The term currently does notinclude a person in a mental institution for observation or a voluntary admission to a mental institution.
The ATF rule changes will expand this definition to explicitly include both inpatient and outpatient commitments to treatment – making it conceivable every American that receives any sort of mental health assistance would become subject to having Second Amendment rights revoked, if mental health professionals turn to the courts to enforce their treatments.
Continue reading →
