PTSD
TN Attorney General says a person who has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can obtain a handgun carry permit.
Interesting. Doesn’t PTSD denote adjudicated a mental defective and prohibit one so adjudicated from possessing a firearm? Says the AG:
as long as that person has not been adjudicated as mentally defective, been committed or hospitalized, or been judicially determined to pose a substantial risk of harm because of PTSD.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
A doctor diagnoses you as having PTSD.
It takes a judge find you legally a mental defective.
August 14th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Wasn’t that part of the “compromise” bill that went thru after VT?
I think SAF made a lot of noise about it.
August 14th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Any LEO or soldier who has seen combat is subject to experiencing some level of PTS. It certainly does not mean they are any danger to themselves or others. Rather than strip them of their rights, we should thank them.
An adverse reaction to traumatic stress does not make one “mentally defective”. It makes one human.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Not necessarily, GeorgeH. The federal laws allows you to be adjucated as a mental defective by “any lawful authority”. Depending on the state, that can include some rather varying designations. Sometimes the requirements for such a recognition are high, sometimes they are set very low.
Under Clinton, a lot of troops going to the various Veteran’s Affairs works ended up on the NICS, almost always without the actions of a judge. If a pair of doctors think you were a danger to yourself or others in Hawaii, you were judged mentally defective. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs still retain the ability to report mental defectives to the FBI.
The ATF itself almost certainly wouldn’t bother going after you until they change their regulations again, but your odds of getting off the NICS would be slim to none, and arguably you would be in violation of federal law (and in some cases where state law mimics federal, state law).
Beyond that, a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis states only that a single psychologist believes you match the diagnosis’s criteria, in a method which severely impacts normal basic, social, or business functioning. I’m unaware of any state law which that recognizes and individual as a mental defective on its own; there needs to be either second level of overview, a required agreement with another licensed psychologist, or more conventional forms of review. In most states, the review must also recognize that the individual is dangerous to himself or others, or meet some other criteria more limited than the mere DSM criteria.
Of course, good luck proving that wasn’t done right to the HR 2640 review boards.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Lyle, PTSD is significantly different from stress or post-traumatic stress. A diagnosis of PTSD requires that a pretty wide array of very specific criteria be met, and in a manner that significantly interferes with normal social, occupational or other basic functioning.
Most (but not all) people who go through combat develop stress from that combat, and anybody that lives develops unusual habits or mannerisms. Many, if not most, probably could use some counseling on the matter. Very little of that (although still far too much) is PTSD.
We’re not talking just being stressed out about the matter, or even being nervous or having unusual ranges of emotion. We’re talking about avoiding work or social contact rather than risk something reminding you of a trigger, or having your range of emotions hit so hard that your social development takes a significant hit, or worse.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
georgeh is correct. The word “adjudicated” means that a judicial decision has been issued. While types of courts and qualifications of judges vary greatly, a doctor or doctors cannot adjudicate.