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OFF ALERT 06.13.07
US HOUSE PASSES NEW GUN CONTROL |
We warned you on June
10th, the NRA was working with anti-gun forces to pass new
gun control.
Today, far sooner than we would have imagined, the bill passed
in the US House, with almost no notice and no recorded vote.
HR 2640 passed on a voice vote, with so little notice provided
to the public that when we contacted Congresswoman Hooley's
office, her staff was unaware that the bill had passed.
(You can use this link
to search for the bill or use this
link to download the bill as a .pdf.)
The bill gives the Federal Government vast new access to people's
mental health records and opens the door for expanded abuse
of power, delays and denials of firearms purchases.
The bill purports to given people a chance to have their names
removed from the no-buy list, but only at great personal expense
with no guarantee of success.
If the past is any indication, purchasing a firearm is about
to become a lot more complicated.
Keep in mind, for years the ATF has been forbidden from doing
any investigations to expunge records and return people's gun
rights.Now, with the help of the NRA, even more restrictions
are being created.
Of course, unlike a "crime," "mental illness"
is a very subjective evaluation.
As Corey Graff from Wisconsin Gun Owners writes;
"Since 1952, the American Psychiatry Association (APA)
has utilized the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM) as its standard for defining, diagnosing and
treating mental health disorders.
Since its first printing, the manual has undergone five revisions,
the most recent being the DSM-IV, which was finalized in 1994.
Currently a fifth version is being prepared and is due out by
2012.
Each new version contradicts the previous version; new authors
with new perspectives and agendas write each new release. The
standard keeps changing, shifting, sometimes radically so --
the result is that mental illness is never clearly or objectively
defined. It is a moving target shaped by political and social
pressures.
Following controversy and protests from gay activists at APA
annual conferences from 1970 to 1973, the seventh printing of
the DSM-II, in 1974, no longer listed homosexuality as a category
of disorder. After talks led by the psychiatrist Robert Spitzer,
who had been involved in the DSM-II development committee, a
vote by the APA trustees in 1973, confirmed by the wider APA
membership in 1974, replaced the diagnosis with a milder category
of "sexual orientation disturbance."
In today's politically correct climate, the most recent version
of the DSM-IV contains "no reference to homosexuality."
Which DSM was correct or were both wrong? One can easily see
the danger this contradiction raises if these diagnoses were
synced up with a gun owner database that acts as an automated
judge, jury and executioner for the gun buyer.
Such variance also calls into question the credibility of those
who define mental illness.
Psychiatrists can't even agree amongst themselves over a relatively
short period of time on how to precisely define mental illness
on any given issue. Thirty years ago no one heard the term "attention
deficit disorder" or "post-traumatic stress disorder"
-- today diagnoses for these new mental illnesses are commonplace.
If NICS is expanded, expect entire groups to be denied their
right to purchase a firearm.
Legislation like this paints with a broad brush and will disarm
many good people who should be able to buy handguns. One such
group is veterans.
"[NICS Expansion] could have a significant impact on American
servicemen," wrote Gun Owners of America recently, "especially
those returning from combat situations and who seek some type
of psychiatric care.
Often, veterans who have suffered from post-traumatic stress
disorder have been deemed as mentally 'incompetent' and are
prohibited from owning guns under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4). Records
of those instances certainly exist, and, in 1999, the Department
of Veterans Administration turned over 90,000 names of veterans
to the FBI for inclusion into the NICS background check system."
Once again, the NRA has colluded with anti-gunners to pass
new gun control and tell gun owners it's good for them.
(Click here
to read the NRA's BRAGGING about passing this bill with a "no
accountability" voice vote.)
According to CQ.com
"Advocates of House-passed legislation say it likely
would have prevented the gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, from buying
a firearm because of his history of mental illness"
But this is, of course, nonsense. The Brady law has not
kept criminals from getting guns and won't stop madmen from
getting them either. But it might very well stop you.
To stop this in the Senate will mean fighting not only the anti-gunners
in the Legislature, but America's biggest "gun lobby."
We'll need all the help we can get. Please consider making whatever
contribution you can to OFF. |
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Copyright
© 2000 - 2008, Oregon Firearms Federation. All Rights Reserved.
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