Posted on 02/06/2013 6:15:49 AM PST by lwd
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office says it will start requiring mental health background checks for anyone applying to buy a handgun.
The application already asks whether the person seeking the handgun permit has ever been committed to a mental institution. But until now, the Sheriff’s Office had never verified the answer.
Beginning Monday, handgun permit applicants will have to give permission for the Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court to release mental health records to the Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s been an honor system, and we are just going to do a little more checking,” Sheriff Kevin Auten said.
The inquiry includes a check into psychiatric information, physical health or substance abuse treatment. The release is for the sole purpose of determining whether the applicant is disqualified for a permit, Auten said.
State and federal laws prohibit the agency from approving a permit in some cases, Auten said.
The release acknowledges this information is protected by federal regulations and state statutes, but asks for the consent of the applicant.
Auten said with all the discussions of gun control and safety issues, the agency reviewed its own policy.
“We felt it was good to improve the process and make it a little more thorough,” he said.
If the applicant refuses to sign the release, he or she will be automatically denied a permit.
Auten said the agency wants those qualified to be able to purchase guns legally.
This new process isn’t without its flaws, Auten admits. The release does not address a person who has relocated from another state.
“That’s part of the loophole. This is a stepping stone in that process,” he said.
This extra step is likely to lengthen the permit process by a day or so, said Capt. John Sifford.
Other nearby agencies contacted have similar requirements for applicants.
The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office includes a mental health check with its local clerk of court office as part of its application process. Officials at the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office say a criminal background check and a mental health check is also done as part of its process.
Iredell County officials did not immediately return a phone call, but do have an online form. The form asks applicants to answer whether they’ve been committed or have been judged “mentally defective.” The department also has a supplement to its form that addresses citizenship status.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.
The people who elected this POS need to wake up and recall his ass! This arrogant a**hole has no business wearing a badge.
Is he going to station a deputy every quarter mile in the county in order to ensure a response time of seconds?
This whole country has become one giant mental institution. These guys are going to be busy going through everyone’s “health record”.
Or is this just a "commonsense" restriction, giving the appearance of "doing something", while increasing the Dept. of Paperwork's workload?
What happens to patient/doctor confidentiality?
Here's the real problem....Pysciatrists are supposed to report extremes....Holmes is the perfect example...That doctor was obligated...but neglected to follow through....Loughner also fits this problem
Another problems is...no one will listen to you if nothing has occurred. Lanza's mother would have been told to go home.
If you are "mentally defective", what are the chances that you would give a truthful answer to this question?
Looks like the sheriff is pushing for crazy people to buy long guns.
Who are they to do any judging?
http://www.rowancountync.gov/GOVERNMENT/Departments/SheriffsOffice.aspx
Look at “Doughboy” O and this POS “area” is where Elisebeth Dole is from.
So the result of measures like these is... people won’t seek help for depression or any other mental-health malady. While the gun-banners are soooo anxious to appear to “do something,” the “something” that will occur is more untreated people on the streets.
We have been griping that the mental cases have done the shootings, so why wonder when someone takes them up on it? What we will end up with is anyone taking an SSRI or getting a divorce will end up losing their guns. Anyone getting kinda weepy after their mom dies could end up on some list somewhere. If we gripe about the psycho’s doing the shootings, then don’t be surprised when they take us up on it. Any kind of law coming from government will always lose sight of what is important and just become another rule to follow. That’s how government works.
It will ultimately rest on the say of some medical practitioner, and the operative word is “liability.” No one will want to affirm that any applicant is mentally non-hazardous.
The next step, of course, will be to open the path for virtually anyone of little achievement and education (e.g., government officials) to be able to enter items into one’s health record...thereby providing a means to hold weapons from anyone of choice.
By the way, anyone seen the bat-eared-b*stard’s health records?
Or his school records?
Or his passport?
Or his SS card?
Or his REAL birth certificates.
Heh.
How can a person release his mental health records when he does not have any mental health records? Reminds me of a quip by George Wallace in ‘68. He was asked about his Army discharge in 45 that said he has a 10% mental health disability. He told the reporter that he had a govt document that testified he was 90% sane and asked the reporter to ask Nixon and Humphrey to prove they were more sane than he was.
So when a person wants to exercise their right to keep and bear arms, they have to give up their right to privacy.
Interesting....
This question surely raises a cunundrum.
I used to say I had a ‘piece of paper’ saying I was sane as I took and passed the psych test as part of qualifying for Submarine Service.
Recently I have openly admitted that the test proves I -or one of us- is actually crazy as a sane person certainly wouldn’t place himself in a steel tube and allow himself to be ‘sunk’ for long periods of time, jump out of perfectly good airplanes, or, much the same as SEALs, SPEC OPS, etc must have a touch of insanity (of the same respect) as the normal wimp wouldn’t dream of doing what they ACTUALLY do.
Add to the mix that I was a very good High Speed Morse Code Operator and - in their eyes - I must be a raving lunatic.
I have ‘worried’ for awhile that those that have ‘accepted’ PTSD status are going to be in danger of losing their 2nd Amendment rights, as Ayn Rand so graciously put it - ‘make enough stupid laws and eventually everyone is a criminal’.
I got an email a few dyas ago about this. A diagnosis of PTSD most likely will keep you from owning a gun.
Guess who this will affect most?
I work in the veteran and family world and I’ve seen more determinations of incompetency (for fiduciary reasons) by the VA for PTSD claims lately, which results in loss of 2A rights.
“We felt it was good to improve the process and make it a little more thorough,” he said
Exactly. This will make the problem worse - who would get psychiatric help at that price? I assume the sheriff is a democrat if he came up with such a stupid idea.
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