General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Just a reminder: Most people with mental illness are NOT violent. [View all]nickinSTL
(4,833 posts)I have a very good friend recently diagnosed with Bipolar II, and so she would be classified as being mentally ill.
I can't see any scenario in which she would EVER be a danger to anyone. Other than, unfortunately, possibly herself.
She's suffered from debilitating depression for many years, and it's taken a very long time to learn that it was due to bipolar disorder rather than primary depression.
But, the stigmatization of the mentally ill in the discussion of gun control concerns me, as I don't want her to face more challenges than she already does.
She has absolutely zero interest in ever owning (or even seeing or touching) a gun, so I'm not too worried about her being barred from gun ownership, just any potential spill-over into other areas of life.
If background checks for gun ownership are going to show up with mental status (possibly violating HIPAA), will background checks for employment also be able to access that kind of information? I think there needs to be some serious discussion of how to implement better safeguards without destroying the lives of all people coping with mental illness.