[trigger warning ~ if you don't like defending people's rights, don't read further, go away]
As a person who has lived most of my life with epilepsy, and who also is a responsible firearm owner, I've been looking into the Coryn bill and also into the ATF rule which came about as part of the US government's “Unified Agenda” (which included DoJ's proposed “clarification” of definitions of two categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting firearms under the Gun Control Act of 1968.)
As you may know, currently Coryn's bill, S.2002 - "Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015" has been introduced. This bill is flawed in many respects. One area is Section 102, in which "repeated hospitalizations" or inability to find "food, clothing," or "shelter," could under the proposed law result in "court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment." In this regard, anyone such as a person who has needed to go the hospital repeatedly (for example, a person with rheumatoid arthritis, or a person with epilepsy) or such a person who doesn't want to conform to a hospital's care regime but requests to be discharged could find themselves being subjected to court-ordered treatment, so that they would, in the words of the proposed law "live in a less restrictive alternative to incarceration or involuntary hospitalization."
The ATF proposed a rule clarifying what it considers to mean “adjudicated as a mental defective” to include persons found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, lack of mental responsibility, or insanity, and that includes persons found guilty but mentally ill. The final rule also proposes “ATF regulations to clarify that the statutory term “committed to a mental institution” applies to involuntary inpatient or outpatient treatment.” (See regulations[dot]gov using RIN: 1140-AA47, Definition of Adjudicated as a Mental Defective and Committed to a Mental Institution, ATF-2014-0002-0001)
This massively expansive rule, if finalized as such, could result in you being prohibited from firearm possession if you have lost consciousness and ended up in a hospital, which is a form of involuntary treatment that many people with epilepsy (and those without) have experienced. It also contains a proposal for “adjudicated as mental defective” to include persons who exhibit a “lack of mental responsibility,” a term so broad that even the proposal of it in the rule is an abuse of discretion and an offense to all disabled communities and to those who have no disability as well, but who might find themselves accused of having a “lack of mental responsibility” under the vagaries of this ridiculous proposal aimed at stripping away the rights of the populace. This rule is currently in its "Final Rule" stage at Regulations[dot]gov.
I've never been "adjudicated as a mental defective" nor have I ever been "committed to a mental institution." Yet it's easy to see how the overreach of the federal government in adopting the broad-brush language for these proposals could end up targeting myself, you, or pretty much anyone else. Particularly vulnerable to potential targeting under these proposals by Coryn and the ATF are those who have a need to seek frequent care for a persistent condition, although disabled persons are by no means the only people targeted here. This obviously will impact veterans in a negative way because:
As of September 2014, there are about 2.7 million American veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (compared to 2.6 million Vietnam veterans who fought in Vietnam; there are 8.2 million "Vietnam Era Veterans" (personnel who served anywhere during any time of the Vietnam War).
At least 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have PTSD and/or Depression. (This number is probably much higher.)
50% of those with PTSD do not seek treatment (and are not going to be encouraged to seek treatment by legislative proposals that stigmatize or legally attack people just because they have a condition).
When we look at Coryn's so-called "Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015" together with the ATF's finalized rule (RIN: 1140-AA47, Definition of Adjudicated as a Mental Defective and Committed to a Mental Institution, ATF-2014-0002-0001), we see that the result is not something beneficial but rather is a blatant assault on anyone who needs care at any level. Arguably, Coryn's and the ATF's assaults on the disabled are a violation of the ADA as well as an attack on our Constitutional rights generally, and should be interpreted as such by any persons who would use the courts to fight back against any federal government entities who attempt to operate based on Coryn's or the ATF's flawed principles.
I urge you to:
- Stand against S.2002 - "Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015," and encourage legislators to vote against it
- Develop legislation to defund any activity which would implement the ATF's rule described as RIN: 1140-AA47, Definition of Adjudicated as a Mental Defective and Committed to a Mental Institution, ATF-2014-0002-0001
- Speak out publicly against people in Congress who are attacking the disabled and who are attempting to rob us of our Constitutional rights.
If you would like:
- Contact the Policy Committee at Link Removed and provide them with your views on this subject (suggested talking points above, add your own)
- Contact the Speaker at Contact | Speaker.gov to emphasize your message
- Contact your Legislators in Congress about it using https://democracy.io/ (this tool works even if your Congressmember's own contact page doesn't)
As a person who has lived most of my life with epilepsy, and who also is a responsible firearm owner, I've been looking into the Coryn bill and also into the ATF rule which came about as part of the US government's “Unified Agenda” (which included DoJ's proposed “clarification” of definitions of two categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting firearms under the Gun Control Act of 1968.)
As you may know, currently Coryn's bill, S.2002 - "Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015" has been introduced. This bill is flawed in many respects. One area is Section 102, in which "repeated hospitalizations" or inability to find "food, clothing," or "shelter," could under the proposed law result in "court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment." In this regard, anyone such as a person who has needed to go the hospital repeatedly (for example, a person with rheumatoid arthritis, or a person with epilepsy) or such a person who doesn't want to conform to a hospital's care regime but requests to be discharged could find themselves being subjected to court-ordered treatment, so that they would, in the words of the proposed law "live in a less restrictive alternative to incarceration or involuntary hospitalization."
The ATF proposed a rule clarifying what it considers to mean “adjudicated as a mental defective” to include persons found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, lack of mental responsibility, or insanity, and that includes persons found guilty but mentally ill. The final rule also proposes “ATF regulations to clarify that the statutory term “committed to a mental institution” applies to involuntary inpatient or outpatient treatment.” (See regulations[dot]gov using RIN: 1140-AA47, Definition of Adjudicated as a Mental Defective and Committed to a Mental Institution, ATF-2014-0002-0001)
This massively expansive rule, if finalized as such, could result in you being prohibited from firearm possession if you have lost consciousness and ended up in a hospital, which is a form of involuntary treatment that many people with epilepsy (and those without) have experienced. It also contains a proposal for “adjudicated as mental defective” to include persons who exhibit a “lack of mental responsibility,” a term so broad that even the proposal of it in the rule is an abuse of discretion and an offense to all disabled communities and to those who have no disability as well, but who might find themselves accused of having a “lack of mental responsibility” under the vagaries of this ridiculous proposal aimed at stripping away the rights of the populace. This rule is currently in its "Final Rule" stage at Regulations[dot]gov.
I've never been "adjudicated as a mental defective" nor have I ever been "committed to a mental institution." Yet it's easy to see how the overreach of the federal government in adopting the broad-brush language for these proposals could end up targeting myself, you, or pretty much anyone else. Particularly vulnerable to potential targeting under these proposals by Coryn and the ATF are those who have a need to seek frequent care for a persistent condition, although disabled persons are by no means the only people targeted here. This obviously will impact veterans in a negative way because:
As of September 2014, there are about 2.7 million American veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (compared to 2.6 million Vietnam veterans who fought in Vietnam; there are 8.2 million "Vietnam Era Veterans" (personnel who served anywhere during any time of the Vietnam War).
At least 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have PTSD and/or Depression. (This number is probably much higher.)
50% of those with PTSD do not seek treatment (and are not going to be encouraged to seek treatment by legislative proposals that stigmatize or legally attack people just because they have a condition).
When we look at Coryn's so-called "Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015" together with the ATF's finalized rule (RIN: 1140-AA47, Definition of Adjudicated as a Mental Defective and Committed to a Mental Institution, ATF-2014-0002-0001), we see that the result is not something beneficial but rather is a blatant assault on anyone who needs care at any level. Arguably, Coryn's and the ATF's assaults on the disabled are a violation of the ADA as well as an attack on our Constitutional rights generally, and should be interpreted as such by any persons who would use the courts to fight back against any federal government entities who attempt to operate based on Coryn's or the ATF's flawed principles.
I urge you to:
- Stand against S.2002 - "Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015," and encourage legislators to vote against it
- Develop legislation to defund any activity which would implement the ATF's rule described as RIN: 1140-AA47, Definition of Adjudicated as a Mental Defective and Committed to a Mental Institution, ATF-2014-0002-0001
- Speak out publicly against people in Congress who are attacking the disabled and who are attempting to rob us of our Constitutional rights.
If you would like:
- Contact the Policy Committee at Link Removed and provide them with your views on this subject (suggested talking points above, add your own)
- Contact the Speaker at Contact | Speaker.gov to emphasize your message
- Contact your Legislators in Congress about it using https://democracy.io/ (this tool works even if your Congressmember's own contact page doesn't)
