Political Crossfire Forums

Obama said something during his second debate that offended me. He said that guns should be kept out of the hands of the mentally ill. That comment suggested that every mentally ill person is capable of violence. That isn't true.

I'm mentally ill and I'm not violent. I've never committed a crime. I've never even gotten a jay walking ticket. My mom is also mentally ill and she's not violent either. She's one of the sweetest people alive. The majority of the mentally ill are harmless.

Yes, it's true that some mentally ill people are violent and those who show any signs of violent behavior shouldn't be allowed to own guns. But Obama's comment didn't suggest that guns should be kept out of the hands of violent mentally ill people. His comment suggested that they should be kept out of the hands of all mentally ill people.

Obama's comment suggested that every mentally ill person is potentially dangerous. That's prejudice. Let me give you an example. Some women kill people with guns. Would it be fair if I said that because some women are violent that guns should be kept out of the hands of all women? Of course it wouldn't be fair. That would be prejudice. And saying that guns should be kept out of the hands of the mentally ill is just as prejudice.

Thanks for your post.

I think it depends entirely on what kind of mental illness.

People who suffer from something like anxiety, depression, etc. - I don't think this is grounds to prevent them from buying a fire arm.

But what about those who suffer from delusions, psychotic and otherwise? It seems reasonable to prevent them from buying weapons.

if you are bipolar or schizo or retarded, sorry, you dont get to have a gun

"normal" people do enough damage with guns as it is

Rjohnson, welcome to PCF.

Mental illness can probably mean a lot of things to a lot of people. I'm pretty sure when people say keeping guns away from the mentally ill, they mean people with a mental illness that causes a tendency towards violence or uncontrolled behavior. Nonetheless, we are perhaps using that blanket term inappropriately when we do that.

Welcome to the forum, OP.

It would be interesting to compare the violence rate among mentally ill persons with that of the general population.

I'll bet it is far lower. So where does that leave the idea that mentally ill persons should be denied some of their rights for their "own good" and the "good of society"? Is there an objective basis for this type of discrimination?

I don't think we know that yet.

Just goes to show you that the prez is a pretty clueless guy.

Not every criminal is violent either, but it makes sense to keep guns away from criminals.

If you're mentally ill, even if you do not intend violence, you're likely a risk due to accidental violence.

You have Aspergers?