Tracking mentally ill Americans

The NRA has taken a stance that we should be tracking our mentally ill people the same as we do sex offenders:

NRA Takes Fire for Stance on Mental Illness - Yahoo! News

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In a news conference last week, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre repeatedly used the word "monsters" and "insane" to describe people who carry out mass shootings.

And during an interview this weekend on "Meet the Press" LaPierre used the word lunatic "as a catchphrase for those who commit violent crimes," the APA said.

In his news conference, LaPierre blamed the tragedy on Hollywood, the media, video games and the courts. His remarks also appeared to explicitly scapegoat those with mental illness.

"How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame ?" LaPierre said. "A dozen more killers? A hundred? More? How can we possibly even guess how many, given our nation's refusal to create an active national database of the mentally ill?"

APA's President Dr. Dilip Jeste said in a statement over the weekend that LaPierre's comments were unfair and inaccurate.

"Only 4 to 5 percent of violent crimes are committed by people with mental illness," Jeste said. "About one quarter of all Americans have a mental disorder in any given year, and only a very small percentage of them will ever commit violent crimes."

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Would a mentally ill registry help our country?

Absolutely not! This is disgusting. Plenty of people suffer from mental illness and would not do something at this level or even close to it. There is already a stigma attached to those with mental illness so what better than to separate them out from the rest of society so we can better identify them even if they haven't committed a crime.

The NRA is really not helping their cause. At least to me. Like how PETA has never turned me vegan because of their antics.

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Originally Posted by Jessica80

The NRA is really not helping their cause. At least to me. Like how PETA has never turned me vegan because of their antics.

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Good analogy!!


I am feeling creeped out by this too. I have a major depressive disorder. I'm on head meds (my term lol) forever. For my own good. It took me a long time to come to terms with it. To be 'tracked' because of it? Yikes. I'd feel absolutely violated.

I have some aunts and uncles that have mental illness. I can not imagine putting them on a registry like a sex offender list. My heart breaks for them, but it is there doctors that should be making sure they are properly taking their medicine, not the government.

The NRA is simply infuriating. This whole "don't infringe on my freedom" to own weapons intended for mass murder............but no worries about infringing on the freedom of people who need mental help!!!! What a hypocritical JOKE!!! I suffered from post partum anxiety after the birth of my second child ~ a list like this would have kept me from seeking the help that I needed in fears that I would be put on some list or risk having my children taken away from me or something. That "list" could impact the ability of people to find work, to could be used VERY unfairly against good loving mothers or fathers in a divorce proceeding, or could (and surely will) keep people from seeking the very help that they need ~ so would have 100% the opposite effect that they so ridiculously propose.

I hope you gun lovers see the depravity and selfish disregard for common sense and simply humanity that the NRA is showing in the wake of this tragedy. They are simply using this as a way to fear monger more foolish and simpleminded americans into arming up out of ignorance and fear. The transparency here is disturbing and I would love to hear from ANYONE who believes that the NRA is actually concerned with "solutions", not selling more products.

Wow! Talk about a huge violation of HIPAA. And to compare those with mental illness to sex offenders with regards to a national registry? And 1/4 of all Americans have a mental disorder in any given year? Well, there you go then. Guess we'll get a lot of legal guns off the street since 1/4 of Americans will no longer have their right to privacy or their right to own guns.

Not to mention PTSD is a mental disorder, no? ADHD is also considered a mental disorder.

What will this look like in reality? It looks like 1/4 of the population who should be treated, will no longer seek medical attention. Parents will no longer seek medical attention for their child who might be diagnosed with ADHD and therefore lose his/her right to ever own a gun. The military men and women who suffer from PTSD will not seek treatment.

Yes, I understand some of people shouldn't have access to guns while in treatment, but to end up on a database and lose their rights forever?

I have a difficult time accepting the hypothesis that if we create a national database of those who seek treatment for mental illness will prevent gun violence. How many of these "4 - 5% of violent criminals" who are mentally ill used their own gun? How many were undiagnosed before committing the crime?

I think it's very telling that the NRA would like to track all people who are mentally ill, but not track gun or ammunition sales. We track it when someone buys a car, or when someone buys cold medicine, and nobody screams about their rights; why can't we track it when someone buys a gun or huge amounts of ammunition? Hmmmm....it's almost like they have an agenda that has nothing whatsoever to do with having a two-sided well thought out discussion about gun violence. Maybe we should just stop paying attention to what they have to say, since they won't ever give an inch.

They already have a sort of registry, there are about 40 people on it.

You don't go on it just because you have depression, bipolar or ADHD. I'm pretty sure the people on it (and who will be on it) are considered a danger to themselves and others.

I'm off to do some research. I know i read about it somewhere recently.

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Originally Posted by Sapphire Sunsets

They already have a sort of registry, there are about 40 people on it.

You don't go on it just because you have depression, bipolar or ADHD. I'm pretty sure the people on it (and who will be on it) are considered a danger to themselves and others.

I'm off to do some research. I know i read about it somewhere recently.

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Yes, you have to be committed to an institution (states define what this means) or be declared mentally incompetent by the courts.