I'm thinking we need to throw in anyone who has a gang affiliation should be banned from owning a gun. We should also put a big, bold, capitalized notification in every new gun box that says murder is illegal.

Nobody ever reads that carp . The mentally ill gang bangers will be way too excited to read a post-it note silly head

The OP's question is a fair and valid one. We are always quick to say, "we need more mental health checks." "Those folks with mental illness should not own guns." Half the population will be diagnosed with a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. Statistically speaking 1 in 5 people posting on this forum right now are probably living with and being actively medicated for some sort of mental illness. Most probably own guns as well. Very tough problem with no easy answer.

fully agree.

You should show up at the fall g2g, that number will jump significantly.

“Mentally unstable” will all of a sudden apply to anyone who has ever taken a medication for mild anxiety, or depression of any type, especially so if they are still taking the meds, or felt better after a period of time and quit taking the meds without signoff from their doctor. That’s a VERY slippery slope.

Thank you. You bring out much better than I did the intent of my post.

fully agree

It’s definitely a tough issue to navigate. Well said.

Yessir, same thing I have been saying just explained better. I think the even bigger issue here is that there is no “mentally ill” caveat in the us constitution. Should we take into account mental health records in gun background checks there becomes a mess that intertwines government, medicine, and medical records that I don’t think any of us want. Not to mention potential constitutional rights we could be forfeiting.

people using doctor prescribed anti depressants and anxiety medication can safely answer no here.

they can not legally do that, the law that would have made it legal failed.

I quit seeing my psychiatrist because he was crazy.

One thing for sure, no one thing will absolutely solve the problem. We will at best find incremental solutions. I think it is especially important that we identify the fundamental problem(s) and address them one at a time.