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In reply to the discussion: President Obama saved a lot of lives. Mental health being added to background checks is astounding. [View all]NutmegYankee
(16,296 posts)45. A background check is not due process.
To lose a right, one must have a civil or criminal hearing in court. Once that right (in this case firearm ownership) is removed by a judge, this can be reported to the NICS system and an attempt to purchase a firearm will be denied. The background check then verifies that you are not prohibited from owning a firearm.
Some states have a system where a psychiatrist can sound an alert that someone intends harm to self or others, but that process then triggers the court hearing to meet the due process requirements of the 5th and 14th Amendments. One can argue about the rights of others, but the American legal system doesn't work that way.
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President Obama saved a lot of lives. Mental health being added to background checks is astounding. [View all]
joshcryer
Jan 2016
OP
What about HIPAA? Moreover, what makes anyone think that everyone who "needs" it is on medication?
WinkyDink
Jan 2016
#11
What several states have put in place is a method to report that someone is a danger
NutmegYankee
Jan 2016
#47
It doesn't sit well because it is flat out illegal for the Government to do that.
NutmegYankee
Jan 2016
#33
The Mentally Ill have become stigmatized victims of politicians looking for an easy scapegoat.
Odin2005
Jan 2016
#60