he VA Sees Guns as a Health Care Issue, and Here’s What VA Officials are Doing About It

theblaze.com ^ | 1/8/2014 | Pete Kasperowicz

[RC one]

I probably have about that many laying around gathering dust.

[Mr Rogers]

If “safe” is the goal, and not “health”, then shouldn’t the VA offer railings for balconies, and hand rails for stairs, and offer a free check of your gas furnace?

Shouldn’t they offer free shower mats?

If any SOB asks about my guns, I think I’ll tell them to stuff their questions where the sun doesn’t shine and the wind only blows in one direction until they are ready to install non-slip floors in my bathroom...

[RC one]

They want to expand the list of people that they can legally disqualify from possessing a firearm one way or the other, even if it means fabricating bogus psychological disorders. And, of course, it will be incumbent upon the disqualified to disprove their insanity.

[BitWielder1]

The purpose of a gun in the house is self defense.
Gun locks add valuable seconds to the response time in a crisis and does nothing to prevent what the busybodies claim they want to prevent: suicide or domestic shootings by the veteran.

[MrB]

They’ve already tried to frame “fear of the government” as a psychological disorder.

[CPOSharky]

Which study, pray tell, has shown that gun locks greatly reduce shootings? (Anyone?)

The studies that show how many criminals were killed, wounded or just scared away by a legally owned and operated firearms. Of course, scared away doesn't count for anything.

[RC one]

Thousands of children die every year from accidental ingestion of legal pharmaceuticals. Thousands more die from purposely ingesting legal pharmaceuticals. Why aren't we targeting the pharmaceutical industry? or even the rising epidemic of illicit drug abuse? Oh yeah, because this has nothing to do with keeping anyone safe... accept leftist tyrants perhaps.

•Drug overdose was the leading cause of injury death in 2012. Among people 25 to 64 years old, drug overdose caused more deaths than motor vehicle traffic crashes

•Drug overdose death rates have been rising steadily since 1992 with a 117% increase from 1999 to 2012 alone.1

•In 2011, drug misuse and abuse caused about 2.5 million emergency department (ED) visits. Of these, more than 1.4 million ED visits were related to pharmaceuticals.2

•Between 2004 and 2005, an estimated 71,000 children (18 or younger) were seen in EDs each year because of medication overdose (excluding self-harm, abuse and recreational drug use).4

•Of the 22,114 deaths relating to pharmaceutical overdose in 2012, 16,007 (72%) involved opioid analgesics (also called opioid pain relievers or prescription painkillers), and 6,524 (30%) involved benzodiazepines.6 (Some deaths include more than one type of drug.)

•In the United States, prescription opioid abuse costs were about $55.7 billion in 2007.7 Of this amount, 46% was attributable to workplace costs (e.g., lost productivity), 45% to healthcare costs (e.g., abuse treatment), and 9% to criminal justice costs.7

[Dr. Pritchett]

“The VETERANS Administration has a problem with guns.”

Well, why not? They’ve got all the big problems licked!

[drypowder]

seeing past the VA BS propaganda this is more about finding who has firearms and so they are more likely to be locked when the government comes to take them

[Pollster1]

Any veteran who is safer with gun locks on his firearms must not have been worth much on active duty.

[JimRed]

If any SOB asks about my guns, I think I’ll tell them to stuff their questions where the sun doesn’t shine...

Just tell them "Try breaking into my home some night and find out".

[Darksheare]

“Doc, can you point out for me exactly where and when the Bill of Rights was repealed? When did exercising any of the guaranteed rights become a medical cause of concern?”

[Iron Munro]

I probably have about that many laying around gathering dust.

I always figured some influential politician's son or cousin was the lobbyist for the gun lock manufacturers.

What better way to create a market than to have the federal government make the items you sell mandatory?

Like children's car seats, bicycle helmets and gun locks.

[smoothsailing]

Dear VA, have you got a gunlock for a Ma Duece?
How about an Iron Dome?
Mach 5 Blitzer Rail Gun?

[Iron Munro]

Just be honest with them:

“Doc, we don’t have no guns in my home.”

[Darksheare]

I’m always curious and in search of more information.
So when the doc asks that question, I’d wonder out loud about the motivation behind it.

[DonkeyBonker]

My gun is always locked, and loaded. Any questions?

[tbpiper]

Gun locks have been shown to greatly reduce death and injury caused by firearms in the home.

Let's see your data.

[onedoug]

Great post. Thanks.