[Vision2020] Georgia backs relaxing gun laws for mentally ill

[Joe Campbell]

Well the insane need to protect themselves, too. Right?

On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 12:00 PM, Art Deco <art.deco.studios at gmail.com>wrote:

> God and guns -- that's Georgia.
>
> w.
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 2:22 PM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:
>
>> Courtesy of the Washington Times at:
>>
>>
>>
>> http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/7/ga-backs-relaxing-gun-laws-mentally-ill/
>>
>>
>> -------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> Ga. backs relaxing gun laws for mentally ill
>>
>>
>> ATLANTA — While some states push to tighten gun control laws after the
>> Connecticut school massacre, lawmakers in gun-friendly Georgia want to ease
>> rules preventing some mentally ill people from getting licenses to carry
>> firearms.
>>
>>
>> Legislators in Georgia's House voted 117-56 on Thursday to allow people
>> who have voluntarily sought inpatient treatment for mental illness or
>> substance abuse to get licenses. The same bill would force officials to
>> check on whether applicants have received involuntary treatment in the past
>> five years before issuing licenses. Georgia also may change its laws to
>> allow people to carry guns in churches, bars and on college campuses,
>> contrary to what's happening elsewhere in the United States.
>>
>>
>> Judges in Georgia now have discretion over whether to grant a license to
>> carry a weapon to anyone who has received inpatient treatment at a mental
>> hospital or substance abuse treatment center in the last five years,
>> whether it's voluntary or not.
>>
>>
>> "Simply being hospitalized doesn't make a person a criminal or a threat,"
>> said Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, the bill sponsor, in a statement. The
>> legislation now heads to the state Senate.
>>
>>
>> That change is part of a larger package showcasing the local Republican
>> philosophy on guns. The plan, backed by a gun owners group called
>> GeorgiaCarry.Org, would allow people to carry weapons in churches, bars
>> and college campuses — despite the objections of higher education
>> officials. In response to a shooting rampage that killed 26 people in
>> Connecticut, it would allow school officials to arm their employees.
>>
>>
>> Democrats resisted the proposal, although they conceded it would likely
>> pass in the GOP-dominated House of Representatives. They argued that
>> allowing guns in more places will not make society safer and may lead to
>> more deaths.
>>
>>
>> "I'm not, by nature, a worrier," said Rep. Scott Holcomb, a Democrat.
>> "But I worry that the mix of alcohol, drugs, sex and immaturity on college
>> campuses could be fatal."
>>
>>
>> Law enforcement officials say they now screen people seeking to carry
>> guns against a database with information on involuntary treatment orders,
>> though officials acknowledge it is probably incomplete. Judges can require
>> that people seeking a license authorize the release of treatment records
>> and allow the judge to get a recommendation from treatment providers.
>> Because there is no single clearinghouse for treatment information, judges
>> would have to send waivers to multiple hospitals or treatment centers to
>> get information.
>>
>>
>> Jasperse's bill would require that courts submit involuntary treatment
>> orders to a database, and the legislation would force judges to run those
>> checks before issuing a license to carry a weapon. It would also ban people
>> whom law enforcement officials hear making threats against others in the
>> last five years from carrying weapons. Those represented by guardians or
>> conservators because of mental illness or drug abuse would also be
>> disqualified.
>>
>>
>> One prosecutor said he was concerned about the provision because not
>> everyone with serious mental illness is forced to receive treatment,
>> meaning they would be eligible to carry weapons.
>>
>>
>> "My concern would be there's got to be people who voluntarily seek
>> inpatient treatment who wouldn't be any less dangerous than if they're sent
>> there involuntarily," Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said
>> Wednesday.
>>
>>
>> Federal law prohibits giving or selling guns to anyone who judged to be
>> "mentally defective" or those committed to a mental institution. States set
>> their own standards on who can carry weapons. Some states use the same
>> mental health threshold when deciding whether someone should be prohibited
>> from carrying a gun.
>>
>>
>> Other states like Georgia have gone further. For example, Massachusetts
>> allows authorities to deny people a license to carry if applicants have
>> been confined for mental health treatment, according to a survey by the
>> National Conference of State Legislatures. Mississippi will deny licenses
>> to people who have been committed, voluntary or otherwise, unless a
>> psychiatrist testifies they have been free of mental illness for five
>> years. Texas considers psychiatric hospitalization grounds for being
>> refused to carry a concealed weapon.
>>
>> --------------------
>>
>> Ken Haiterman shows off a CMMG 5.56mm AR 15 at the 2013 Rocky Mountain
>> Gun Show on Jan. 6 in Sandy, Utah. In spite of the recent school shootings
>> in Newtown, Conn., gun enthusiasts flocked to the show to purchase weapons
>> and ammunition.
>>
>> [image: image.jpeg]
>>
>> -------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .
>>
>> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
>> http://www.MoscowCares.com
>>
>> Tom Hansen
>> Moscow, Idaho
>>
>> "There's room at the top they are telling you still
>> But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
>> If you want to be like the folks on the hill."
>>
>> - John Lennon
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
>
> --
> Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
> art.deco.studios at gmail.com
>
>
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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