Cognitive Dissonance

[flamin lib]

Gun rights proponents all point to mental health as the big problem with gun violence. Enter President Obama who issues an executive order that links Social Security recipients who are not competent to manage their own affairs and gun safety. Watch heads explode at Ammoland, Breitbart, TheBlaze, Guns.com and the NRA. OH MY GOD! THEIR GONNA' TAKE GRAMPA'S GUNS!

The ACA requires doctors treating Medicare patients to ask a series of questions about depression, anxiety, specific health conditions and living conditions. The Social Security administration keeps tabs on where SS checks go, i.e., who is taking care of the finances of SS recipients. The new executive order adds those people to the NICS list for buying firearms. For me it doesn't go far enough, it doesn't require disclosing guns already in the home or securing them safely. Being of a certain age I have personally had this conversation with my family however not all people are like me and have a burly former Marine for a son in law who can secure my collection over my objections if necessary.

Ya' gotta' wonder, is there any criteria for restricting the possession of firearms on the gun rights' side?

Apparently not . . .

[Hoyt]

1. Good point. When my then Father-in-Law developed hallucinations, I had to remove his guns.

He was a 25+ year veteran of the Air Force and 20+ years as a policeman. He didn't like it, but my late wife was caring for him after he developed a serious infection from a fall from his roof, had to go on dialysis, etc.

Anyway, I was OK with him having a gun up until he started seeing ghosts and blaming my late wife for his problems (wasn't his fault obviously, but not a situation where guns should be around). At that point, there was no choice.

There are lots of gun owners on medications -- legal and illegal -- that alter decision making. Yet they continue to possess guns, and even carry them. There are even a few in Gungeon who admit to serious illnesses requiring pain meds, etc., that probably should not keep guns, IMO.

A gun "enthusiast" is not going to give them up voluntarily.

[Aristus]

2. Caution: moving goalposts.

Every time a gun massacre occurs, the gunfucks insist that it had nothing to do with guns, and everything to do with mental illness. So, here is someone doing something about mental illness, and the beer-bellied, shitbrained Rambo-wanna-bes are screaming about that!