This has been coming on for a while now. When you go to a doctor, VA or otherwise, one of the questions that they ask is whether you have any weapons or not. Veterans in particular are being targeted with this; but now the VA is actively trying to take away the weapons from veterans, even when there is no legal reason to do so. Here is a news story from my home area of Idaho, that talks about the VA coming to investigate a Viet Nam vet's home, and confiscate his weapons. This man does not have any criminal record, or even a history of mental illness, and I am happy to read that our local Sheriff is also standing up for this veteran's rights. Many of the local residents have organized a support group for this man as well.
As Ken said in another post, the doctors ask if you've ever felt depressed. If you answer yes the government can use that to confiscate your guns.. Our doctor has never asked about guns or depression (he owns guns) but people need to be wary of how they answer questions. Not only at doctors either.
My doc asked about depression just last month when I met my new doc. I answered I was usually pretty upbeat. I screwed up though when she asked if I ever fell down. I said yes, twice when I was following my last doc's orders and wound up dehydrated, causing me to black out. I wound up with a nurse coming to my apartment to check on me, twice a week, and a therapist coming twice a week. The first visit, nurse asked me if I had any guns. I told nurse I blacked out from dehydration, not from shooting myself. Yesterday I told both of them I don't need all this attention nor do I want it. They said after next week they won't come any more.
Is that question on the weapon directed by the doctor towards a potential psycho problem? From what I have been reading, the so called shell shock syndrome could occur even after years of being away from the war. It is a psychiatric case of psychological case, I'm not sure. But one thing is sure, the man with that syndrome should not have a gun in his home. Pardon me for that comment but what I'm thinking is the safety of the veteran's family.
But Corie how many of the mass murderers have ever been in a combat zone or even in the military? Why pick on veterans? If anything, veterans should have more rights not less.
Mass murderers, in this country at least, are typically children or barely adults. Usually, they are being treated with psychotropic medications, such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil or Ritalin. Rarely are they military veterans. In fact, I would bet that if any one kept a tally of people who have saved others from harm, using a weapon, military veterans would be high on the list.
I think it's a good thing that they are taking their guns away. Sure, they are veterans, and they have served the country without caring about their own lives. However, this could mean that they have some form of PTSD left from the war, PTSD which might be activated by simple sounds. What if a veteran goes insane due to such an incident, and starts shooting civillians?
So, John, you would take away peoples rights because they might have PTSD and they might go insane and start shooting people? How would you like to be put in prison because you might decide to rob a bank? I guess that would prevent a lot of crime if we put people in jail because we think they might commit a crime.
We've never been asked if we own any firearms. However, in this "day and age" anybody has to "think" before answering some questions. Sometimes being TO truthful/honest can get a person in real trouble.
Recently I had to see a cardiologists. A sign on his doorway read, "This is a gun free zone". I never felt so unsafe in my life. Also just recently, I had visits from a public nurse. On his very first visit he asked me if I own any guns. I said no. I wanted to say more, but I didn't. Hard to say what he would have put in his report if I had argued.
They are even asking children in schools does your father own a gun. It has been proven over and over again where people have guns the violent crime goes down. I don't own a gun but stand behind anyone who wants one. In Israel there was three terrorists who went into a mall and started shooting they were soon stopped by the people who had caring permits two were shot dead the other was found crying because they were told that these people were unarmed.
If my doctor asks if I have a gun he'll probably want to know what kinds and calibers. Then he'll tell me about his guns and we'll discuss the pros and cons of different guns, calibers, and such. He has a huge stuffed brown bear, a mountain goat and a moose head in his waiting room. He's a great doctor too.
Yesterday I went to my podiatrist. While he did his thing, we chatted about hunting. He's into hunting big time.