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OK, federal law says that you can’t own a gun for a number of reasons. Mental health problems is one category. What the law says is that if you have either been committed (not check yourself in, but been ordered into) a hospital (not gone to a doctor for outpatient treatment, but inpatient care in a hospital or psych center) for psych treatment, you can’t own a gun. The second is if you have been “adjudicated a mental defective”, meaning that a court or administrative body that abides by due process requirements has determined that you have a mental condition that makes you a danger to yourself or others, or you are not competent to enter into contracts or manage your affairs, you are prohibited from owning a gun. The feds keep a list, and the NICS check checks that list. Most states don’t share that information with the feds, so the feds list in incomplete. Some law makers (state and federal) want to share this state data with the feds. That’s what this is about.

How many veterans meet those requirements? It’s not many. It’s not guys who see a shrink, and its not even guys who check themselves into a hospital. It’s guys who are civilly committed to psych centers or are sent to psych centers because they are not competent to stand trial, or are not guilty by reason of insanity. How many of those do you want having guns?

Now, there are groups competing with the NRA for political power, money, and membership. Gun Owners of America is one. SCOPE is another in New York. Do they do some good things? Sure. Are they ever just looking to distinguish themselves from the NRA? I think so, and I’ve had professional contact with a bunch of them.

At bottom. this bill is about Cho Seung-Hui. He shouldn’t have been allowed to buy a gun, and he was. Everyone but the NICS knew he was a psycho. This bill clarifies what information the NICS should have.

That’s what this is about.

Hardly. That is what they would like you to think.