“Why aren’t individuals who collect SSI disability payments because they are mentally ill included in the NICS data base?
The government has all the information that it needs to prevent the majority of bat**** crazy people from buying guns.
The question is why it doesn’t use this information. “
One real big problem is with vets. They don’t want to go for treatment out of fear that they will lose their guns. This is especially true of severe PTSD. I see both sides of this issue, especially in New York where this became a problem after they passed the last set of gun regulations.
That's why I suggested a SSI disability payment hurdle. See a psychiatrist at the VA or privately -- no problem. But if someone is so impaired that he can't work, and needs to collect disability payments, I can see that there could be a problem. It's a much higher bar than just seeing a psychiatrist and taking an antidepressant.
I think politicians and gov't employees must be lazy, stupid or lazy and stupid. There are ways to prevent people who shouldn't buy firearms from buying firearms, while not preventing any people who shouldn't be prevented from buying firearms. In many of these cases it looks like the victims as taxpayers were paying for the guns and the ammo that was used to murder them.
Of course I would suggest there would need to be a system with an appeals process. If someone's psychiatrist is willing to certify that a SSI recipient is so impaired that he needs to collect disability payments, but still presents no danger to himself or anyone else, fine. Take him off the prohibited list, or don't put him on the list in the first place.
I think New York state lowers the bar because New York doesn't want to do what it says it wants to do. It's not about preventing truly dangerous individuals from buying guns. Cuomo really does want to take everyone's guns away! (Except his own bodyguards' guns, of course!)