The gov't already knows who the bat**** crazies are, because if individuals are bat**** crazy, they can't hold a job -- or at least a private sector job -- and so they must be either collecting gov't benefits or living in a cardboard box. If Gov't Agency A would talk to Gov't Agency B, they could prevent most bat**** crazies from buying guns with the non-HIPAA information that they already have now. They could even add a line to the disability application, so beneficiaries voluntarily consent to disclosure.
Obama's EO is likely to result in 1.) thousands of mildly or moderately mentally ill patients becoming even more reluctant to seek mental health care and 2.) thousands of completely harmless patients being reported to the FBI. I don't think that the WH could have designed a worse EO if they wanted to -- so maybe Obama did.
Right answer. This is about official rescissions of rights w/o a criminal conviction. It's aimed at military veterans who've been in combat and have/may have PTSD. It's about disarming veterans by law. To despot-wannabe's and Communists like Obama, trained, armed veterans are a danger.
That so many vets are patriots and Republicans of the Reaganite stripe is just a bonus to the Regime types.