Closer Scrutiny Research Paper

The article titled New Oklahoma Law Seeks to Keep Guns from Dangerously Mentally Ill by Jennifer Palmer highlights that mentally ill individuals have not been previously denied gun licenses during background checks. This might however change if a state law seeking to deny people who are mentally ill an opportunity to own a gun is fully implemented. The new law requires applicant’s information on mental incompetence to be included in a national database, which should be made accessible to Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations and gun dealers. Implementing the new law will give courts the authority to provide mental status information of individual’s seeking gun ownership to law enforcement agencies. The author however notes that Federal law prohibits individuals with mental illnesses from buying firearms. The law requiring mentally ill people to be denied gun license is based on the understanding that allowing mentally incompetent people to buy guns undermines the

Many things can be done differently in order to provide a safer, yet fair way to manage who can and cannot purchase firearms. One change that could be made is a mental evaluation directly before a person can legally purchase a gun. This would help because people who pose an immediate threat would not be able to purchase a gun or other firearm during that time, when they might be considered the most dangerous. However, some people would have no

“Guns don’t kill people, people do.” This is a well known statement that is oftentimes considered true. However, it is not completely true. Someone who is mentally ill may be unable to make logical decisions and the perception they receive of reality may be tainted by the illness. Gun laws pertaining to those suffering mental illnesses should be more restrictive. Weapons such as guns make committing an act of violence, especially when there are multiple victims, much easier. It is difficult to assess the probability of a person to commit a violent act that harms anyone including himself/herself. Therefore, gun laws need be monitored very closely and made more consistent throughout each state in order to prevent violence that could

Dangerousness, not mental incompetence, limits gun rights. I know you opposed to this, but I think you should reconsider because, people who are mentally ill are a danger

There are many places that forbid people from carrying guns such as schools, publicly owned buildings, and businesses. According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, over 98% of mass shootings happened in a zone where guns were prohibited. Even though there are many restrictions on firearms sale and possession, there are extensive loopholes that make it possible for people who should not be able to own gun, to be able to purchase one. One of the most common used loopholes is buying from a small scale seller, or going to a gun show. These kinds of deals do not require that an extensive background check be performed. Another blurry loophole involves the mentally ill being able to get their hands on a gun. The current law that prevents mentally handicapped people from owning a gun requires that a person must be adjudicated as mentally defective in a court of law. A majority of mentally handicapped people are never adjudicated and can petition the court to overturn the ruling. The purpose of these laws and its likely effect is not the same thing. Gun control laws are usually more of a state decision than a federal decision. Many states gun laws differ, such as in Rhode Island, any person with a concealed weapons permit can enter a public school, but in a state over in Massachusetts, you must have extensive written permission from the school

Many innocent lives each year are taken away because most states do not have laws particularly dealing with private dealers administering background checks. Background checks are needed to make sure that clients who are purchasing firearms will not use the gun to endanger themselves or others. However, even in the states where background checks are administered the laws still consist of many loopholes; some of these include, not checking for mental illnesses that the client might have , not following up on the client after they purchased the gun, and how private sellers and many states are not administrating strict and complete background checks., “Researchers confirm that universal background checks laws effectively improve public safety and

Even though federal law prohibits the sale of firearms to certain individuals with a history of mental illness, history has shown that it’s still too easy for dangerous people experiencing a mental health crisis to obtain firearms. Currently, laws are in place that require licensed dealers (but not unlicensed sellers) to conduct a background check prior to the transfer of a firearm to screen out these and other prohibited purchasers (smart gun laws 2017). I fill like everybody should have to take a test reguardless of there mental state so that government agensies go flag people that are mentally incompetent

With approximately 30,000 men, women and children dying each year at the barrel of a gun in elementary schools, movie theaters, workplaces, houses of worship and on live television, the United States faces a public health crisis of gun violence. With stricter gun rights we can put a stop to terrorism and shootings. If the government puts the guns in the hands of people with mental illnesses, then they are allowing the violence to continue. Also it is undoubtedly true that people who are a danger to self and/or others because of mental illness should be prohibited from owning firearms. It is less clear, however, how to tailor new policies to better protect the American civilization while at the same time avoiding the stigmatization of Americans with mental illness. People that have mental issues cannot control themselves, it is undeniable if that person has shown violent tendencies they shouldn't have access to weapons that could be used to harm themselves or others. Mental illness is one of the main reasons that can cause gun violence. Massive shootings by people with mental illnesses represents the most significant relationship between gun violence and mental issues. Gun laws focusing on people with illness or a psychiatric diagnosis are reasonable, even if they add to the stigma already associated with mental illness. “Mass shootings by people with serious mental illness represent less than 1% of all yearly gun-related homicides. In contrast, deaths by suicide using firearms account for the majority of yearly gun-related deaths” (James, L.Knoll). People that have serious mental illness issues should be considered dangerous and should not be allowed to hold a gun. There should be stricter legislation on gun rights. The 2nd Amendment rights means “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and

Every year thirty-thousand Americans die from guns while others have the “privilege” to end up with a disability rather than dying. The men and women who are diagnosed with a mental illness and obtain guns often commit suicide and crimes such as mass shootings, and murders. Because health care providers don't report, the mental illnesses of many people to the FBI, these people are able to pass a background check when they attempt to purchase a gun. Criminals now have more access than ever to gus because of the unlicensed gun sellers at the gun shows. Although the second amendment allows people the right to bear arms, it has become easy for the mentally ill and criminals to acquire guns and gun control should be strengthened for this very reason.

President Obama has proposed the use of Social Security during background checks (Zarembo). This could be an effective method, but with the current classifications it may prevent those persons with the mental capacity from owning a firearm. In their article, "Challenging The Political Assumption That 'Guns Don’T Kill People, Crazy People Kill People!”, authors Heath J. Hodges and Mario J. Scalora challenges the guns dont kill people, crazy people kill people theory by providing information that shows there is not a direct correlation between those deemed not mentally sane and gun violence (Hodges and Scalora). With changes to certain classifications using Social Security during background checks will make it more simple for all states to better identify persons across the country and evaluate there mental capacity. In their article, "Substance Use, Mental Illness And Violence: The Co-

In the Constitution, Americans are given the right to bear arms, just because its a given right does not mean there are some restrictions. For example, if you have committed a felony then you have lost your right to bear arms as part of your punishment. Nowadays, there are too many shootings going on, some people may blame it the gun control laws and that they aren 't strict enough, others may disagree. This year alone there have been shootings that could have been prevented with more strict gun laws. Gun control laws need to be tightened to make America feel more safe; you can’t even go to the movies, or church feeling safe nowadays. Recently there was a shooting live broadcasted on television when a mentally disturbed man shot and killed two people. Mentally ill persons are getting their hands on guns and hurting innocent people by having doctors report threats to the state it should minimize the amount of crazy people who get their hands on guns to hurt others. However, even though they are mentally ill, doctors can’t report that to the state due to doctor patient confidentiality.

“The US is home to 88 guns for every 100 people and sees mass shootings more than 11 times as often as any other developed country.” (McCarthy. Gun Ownership). The U.S is currently undergoing a stress on gun ownership, mass shootings, and background checks. Obtaining a gun should be significantly harder for those with a criminal background and certain mental illnesses because they are viable to escalate violence (depending on the situation).

While the citizens of the United States of America should be allowed to own and make use of their firearms, in the case of protecting themselves against harm, there should be a better system in place to ensure that a person does not have a mental illness that could endanger another person if they have access to firearms. This is also the same in the case of a person having a criminal record, such as having a prior conviction as a result of illegally owning a firearm or

Representative Blake Farenthold said ‘’ Growing up in a farming and ranching family, guns have been part of my life since I was a child. My grandfather taught me the importance of gun safety, marksmanship, and our right under the constitution to own and use guns. I take my oath of upholding our Constitutional rights very seriously and will continue to protect our right to keep and bear arms. The current debate in Congress over increased gun restrictions fails to address the real issue of violence in our country, and that’s our broken mental health system. Creating stricter gun laws will do nothing to prevent acts of violence by the mentally ill or criminals who don't obey the law anyway—and that is why I do not support increased gun regulation. It’s the individual, not the weapon, we need to be focused on’’. While I agree with Farenthold on protecting our constitutional rights to be bear arms and knowing the importance of gun safety I disagree that we need to focus on the mentally ill and the criminals because that would be profiling them. Anyone at any time can use a gun to do bad things, we need to have strict laws and regulations so people can know that there are

There is no question, of course, that guns are used in numerous murders, suicides and accidental deaths in today’s society. Yet, the impacts of the Gun Control have left the U.S deeply divided into two groups, those who are banned from legally having a gun due to their criminal record or other disqualifying circumstances and everyone else who have a firearm in their name. The vast majority of the adult public is allowed to obtain and have a firearms they want, thus preserving the personal right to “keep and bear arms” that has been established by recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings. But that right, like all rights, has limits. People with serious criminal records or severe mental illness may reasonably be deemed at such high risk of misusing firearms that raised a public-safety alarm which should always take priority over gun rights. While in practice it is impossible to keep all members of high-risk groups disarmed in a gun-rich environment, a selective prohibition may cause some reduction in gun misuse and save enough lives to be worthwhile.