Consider:
*According to CDC 25% of adults are mentally ill, and 50% will experience mental illness at some point in life. (CDC Statistics: Mental Illness in the US | World of Psychology)
*About 20% of adults were prescribed psychiatric drugs in 2010 (15% of men, 26% of women) (Psychiatric Drug Use Spreads - WSJ.com)
*Nationwide, 13.1% of children had a diagnosable mental disorder (NIMH · Statistics · Any Disorder Among Children)
*In some areas, as many as 13.9% of children had a diagnosis of ADHD alone in 2007-2008 (CDC - ADHD, Data and Statistics - NCBDDD).
*DSM-IV (the diagnostic bible for the mental health professions in the United States) lists 297 mental disorders (DSM-IV Codes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
*To give an idea of how broadly professionals use the term "mental disorder", mathematics disorder, premature ejaculation, phonologic disorder (stuttering, lisps), specific phobia (fear of spiders or fear of flying, for example), nicotine dependence, and caffeine-related disorders, are among those listed in DSM-IV. Most of these were not included in the CDC statistics.
"One study found that 3 percent of the variance in
violent behavior in the United States is
attributable to mental disorder, and other studies
have shown that people with mental illness are more
likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence.
Most significantly, the link of mental disorders to
violent behavior is not based on a diagnosis of
mental illness but on current psychotic symptoms.
Research to date indicates static predictions of an
individual's danger to others are not realistic.
Recent epidemiological studies have instead sought
to identify those psychotic symptoms and related
factors that could predict the occurrence of
violent behavior. One major study has linked
symptoms of hostility and delusions, especially
when combined with substance abuse, with a high
probability of violent behavior. On the other hand,
demographic factors, such as age and gender, appear
to be more important for predicting violence among
the general population than among those with mental
disorders."
(emphasis mine, source: https://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/mentilln.txt)
While this doesn't really say anything about it, the possibility that being a man (especially a young man) is more of a risk factor for violent behavior than being mentally ill is something to think about, and would be interesting to investigate. It's not hard to imagine this being the case, considering:
"In 2004, males were almost 10 times more likely than females to commit murder."
"Nearly 9 times as many men (5,037,000) as women (581,000) had ever at one time been incarcerated in a State or Federal prison at year end 2001."
(Gender and crime - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Now, I've heard many gun enthusiasts say we need to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the "mentally ill." I'm guilty of this myself. What I take away from all of the above is that we should probably start saying "the dangerously psychotic" instead of "the mentally ill" as many of us are mentally ill or will be according to mental health professionals (for better or worse, they are considered the experts).
This is particularly relevant to pistol permits in NY, considering the application currently asks a much broader question about mental illness than a Form 4473. I'm aware of one person being denied in Westchester for disclosing voluntary treatment (this is what inspired this post to begin with, he posted about it in another forum).
I find this especially troubling in light of the Heller opinion:
"The Court's opinion should not be taken to cast
doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by
felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of fire-
arms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or
laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of
arms." (http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-290.pdf)
This seems like carte blanche to deny a very large percentage of Americans who are not particularly dangerous the right to own firearms. It seems like a truly spectacular thing for the anti-gun crowd to exploit. Am I wrong to think this is the case?
Does anybody here think current mental illness question on NY pistol permit applications is justifiable?
Is there really any justification for prohibiting gun ownership by "ordinary mentally ill" people with non-psychotic symptoms, or even giving them extra scrutiny?
*According to CDC 25% of adults are mentally ill, and 50% will experience mental illness at some point in life. (CDC Statistics: Mental Illness in the US | World of Psychology)
*About 20% of adults were prescribed psychiatric drugs in 2010 (15% of men, 26% of women) (Psychiatric Drug Use Spreads - WSJ.com)
*Nationwide, 13.1% of children had a diagnosable mental disorder (NIMH · Statistics · Any Disorder Among Children)
*In some areas, as many as 13.9% of children had a diagnosis of ADHD alone in 2007-2008 (CDC - ADHD, Data and Statistics - NCBDDD).
*DSM-IV (the diagnostic bible for the mental health professions in the United States) lists 297 mental disorders (DSM-IV Codes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
*To give an idea of how broadly professionals use the term "mental disorder", mathematics disorder, premature ejaculation, phonologic disorder (stuttering, lisps), specific phobia (fear of spiders or fear of flying, for example), nicotine dependence, and caffeine-related disorders, are among those listed in DSM-IV. Most of these were not included in the CDC statistics.
"One study found that 3 percent of the variance in
violent behavior in the United States is
attributable to mental disorder, and other studies
have shown that people with mental illness are more
likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence.
Most significantly, the link of mental disorders to
violent behavior is not based on a diagnosis of
mental illness but on current psychotic symptoms.
Research to date indicates static predictions of an
individual's danger to others are not realistic.
Recent epidemiological studies have instead sought
to identify those psychotic symptoms and related
factors that could predict the occurrence of
violent behavior. One major study has linked
symptoms of hostility and delusions, especially
when combined with substance abuse, with a high
probability of violent behavior. On the other hand,
demographic factors, such as age and gender, appear
to be more important for predicting violence among
the general population than among those with mental
disorders."
(emphasis mine, source: https://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/mentilln.txt)
While this doesn't really say anything about it, the possibility that being a man (especially a young man) is more of a risk factor for violent behavior than being mentally ill is something to think about, and would be interesting to investigate. It's not hard to imagine this being the case, considering:
"In 2004, males were almost 10 times more likely than females to commit murder."
"Nearly 9 times as many men (5,037,000) as women (581,000) had ever at one time been incarcerated in a State or Federal prison at year end 2001."
(Gender and crime - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Now, I've heard many gun enthusiasts say we need to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the "mentally ill." I'm guilty of this myself. What I take away from all of the above is that we should probably start saying "the dangerously psychotic" instead of "the mentally ill" as many of us are mentally ill or will be according to mental health professionals (for better or worse, they are considered the experts).
This is particularly relevant to pistol permits in NY, considering the application currently asks a much broader question about mental illness than a Form 4473. I'm aware of one person being denied in Westchester for disclosing voluntary treatment (this is what inspired this post to begin with, he posted about it in another forum).
I find this especially troubling in light of the Heller opinion:
"The Court's opinion should not be taken to cast
doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by
felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of fire-
arms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or
laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of
arms." (http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-290.pdf)
This seems like carte blanche to deny a very large percentage of Americans who are not particularly dangerous the right to own firearms. It seems like a truly spectacular thing for the anti-gun crowd to exploit. Am I wrong to think this is the case?
Does anybody here think current mental illness question on NY pistol permit applications is justifiable?
Is there really any justification for prohibiting gun ownership by "ordinary mentally ill" people with non-psychotic symptoms, or even giving them extra scrutiny?
