Originally published on: http://themedicalblog.net/2014/11/06/dr-samori-swygert-mental-illness-may-lead-to-mass-disarmament-of-americans/
Would you feel safe and comfortable sitting next to a person that is in possession of a firearm, and diagnosed with a mental disorder?
Would you feel safe and comfortable with your kids playing in the household or within close proximity of an individual in possession of a firearm and diagnosed with a mental disorder?
Depression, major depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar-schizophrenia, PTSD, obsessive compulsive disorder, dissociative identity disorder, and Munchausen syndrome, are all classified as mental illnesses.
The topic of mental health is one of the prominent issues that American society and politics is currently wrestling with. Many citizens are trying to find out why there has been such a surge and proliferation of mental illness on a national level.
Two valid questions about mental health:
1. Has mental illness always been this prevalent, and we just ignored and under diagnosed some of the disorders?
OR
2. Have associations, boards, and committees designed the diagnostic criteria to the most minute detail, characteristics, signs and symptoms, that the average citizen would be diagnosed with a mental disorder at some point throughout their daily routine?
The seriousness of mental illness
If we were to tabulate the total number of mental disorder diagnoses from the various kinds of mental disorders, we would be looking at tens of millions of Americans. The issue hits homes in several ways. First and foremost, people love their family and friends and hate to see them suffer from debilitating conditions.
Secondly, there is a social stigma attached to people with mental disorders. Who wants to be called or hear someone they love being called loony, crazy, nut, psycho, off their rocker, etc.?
Third, this is an expensive burden on families and individuals. Medication is expensive, and individuals require routine checkups, evaluations, counseling, and in some cases, hospitalization.
Fourth, this can be an impediment to family, social, professional, and educational progression. Some of these disorders make it difficult for some patients to engage in some routine life activities.
Lastly, we’ve seen the impact of mental illness manifested in countless mass murders, homicides, and suicides. We’ve seen some of the most gruesome, heinous, and unimaginable events like Colombine, The Colorado Movie Theater Shooting, and Virginia Tech.
Gun legislation and mental illness- ta ying it all together
It’s only logical that discussions on gun legislation and policy are conducted on a national level when you do the statistical analysis of mental illness diagnoses and gun violence.
However, with any legislation, you must specifically address the issue at hand without infringing on the rights of citizens.
What is the New York State Safe Act?
The S.A.F.E. Act is a New York State legislation. The acronym stands for: Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement act.
This was designed with the specific intent to reduce and prevent irresponsible and illegal use of firearms. The legislation encompasses domestic violence, gun safety tips, school violence, gun violence, hunting, and more.
A subsection of the New York State Safe Act is called MHL 9.46. This corresponds to the subsection 9.46 of the act on Mental Health.
This portion of the act requires psychologists, psychiatrists, registered nurses, and licensed clinical social workers to forward the diagnoses and evaluations of patients that are diagnosed with mental disorders to the Director of Community Services.
This is especially mandatory if practitioners consider a patient to be a harmful risk to themselves or others. This report is then cross checked against New York State gun license registry. Individuals diagnosed and considered a threat to themselves or the community with a gun and gun permit must have their firearms confiscated, and gun permit voided.
This sounds good theoretically, especially if you ask the questions I posed at the opening of this article. However, will this lead to the mass disarmament of millions of Americans?
What are the future ramifications of policies like this? We must consider children are being diagnosed with disorders in the 1st grade. Theoretically speaking, millions of future adults (who are children right now) can be ruled unfit to possess a firearm before they even reach the age to legally purchase a gun.
This is crucial because two things in this controversial topic are subjective:
1. The writers, authors, and framers of the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-V have made the diagnostic criteria so expansive that any American can have a mental disorder.
ALSO
2. The subjective judgment and interpretation of the psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, and registered nurse can permanently brand a person for life. How do you account for bias and/or lack of professional experience of the individuals assessing and diagnosing people?
Are they distinguishing between some temporary moods from a bad day, bad break up, death of a loved one, or financial crisis, from something more permanent like chemical imbalances and neural abnormalities?
Since 2012, New York State has put 34,500 New York residents on its “NO GUN LIST.”
What are your thoughts?
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