“More than 45 million Americans, or 20 percent of U.S. adults, had some form of mental illness last year,” a CNBC-hosted Reuters story informs us, citing a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA.
"Too many Americans are not getting the help they need and opportunities to prevent and intervene early are being missed," SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. declares in a press release announcing the national survey.
"The consequences for individuals, families and communities can be devastating. If left untreated mental illnesses can result in disability, substance abuse, suicides, lost productivity, and family discord. Through health care reform and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act we can help far more people get needed treatment for behavioral health problems."
The what act?
This thing. We all know how the Founders insisted on centralizing federal dominion over everything and everyone, so Congress naturally thought it must have been an oversight that they left TSA-style control over mental health services out of their delegated powers and fixed that. True, it had to be “buried within the emergency Economic Stabilization Act signed by then President Bush Oct. 3, 2008,” but circumstantial corroboration suggests a marked decrease in depression among bureaucrats, academics and administrators receiving federal grant monies to produce surveys.
Besides, it’s presented to us under the auspices of Health and Human Services, another one of those pillars of limited national government federalism. Why, there on the SAMHSA home page is a video of HHS Director Kathleen Sibelius, instructing us on bullying and tolerance of "LGBT youth," which, if you think about how she mandated adults tolerating bullying and worse when, as Governor of Kansas, she vetoed concealed carry, well, it does seem…crazy.
But what does considering one-fifth of the population mentally ill have to do with gun rights?
But we’re told Americans are depressed. We’re jobless. We’re strung out.
Not that government control over every aspect of our lives is a contributing factor for any of that…
But we might commit suicide.
Yeah. And if things keep getting worse, our rates might start to approach those of, say, gun-free Japan. Or, God forbid, that of the “Only Ones”…
But if this survey is true, can we as a society afford allowing twenty percent of the population to roam free among us potentially armed?
Maybe we could start with all those “gun nuts” exhibiting "behavioral health problems"...?
You don’t have to be paranoid to realize there are those who would like to do exactly that. And that they already have established models to work from…
Also see:
- Should gun owners have their heads examined?
- Who is prohibited from owning guns?
- Round up 'hate speech' promoters?
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Comments
We must insist on no deprivation of rights except after full due process -- that is, individual trials will full legal protections.
What 20th century "leader" used his country's mental health system to control, oppress, and remove his political oponents?
Well, that would be Joseph Stalin, Boys and Girls! What a great example for for us here in the United States.
Anybody out there still think Obama isn't a leftist?
DDS -- NRA Life member
I may be mistaken but isn't that the same percentage of leftist american hating liberals at reside in this country
du, du dudu, du du dudu
MOLON LABE!!!
du du dudu, du du dudu
With this many of us being nuts, there won't be enough people to take care of us.
Does this study include the sitting president? I'd say he was pretty much in charge of a lot of weapons.
BTW, I'm a mental health professional and have been for 20 years. Various forms of mental illness have always been present in our society, and without the present medications we have today.
Just because someone is "mentally ill" doesn't mean they are "dangerous." Too many people getting their shorts in a wad, but it makes for a good excuse to justify disarmament of the population. I'd be very, very leery of anyone who touts this as a serious proposition.
Junk science.
This is a just a precursor of disarmament of the population, IMHO. Complete BS.
It's all about your perspective. I think that anyone who voted for Obama, Reid, and Pelosi is nuts.
It is hard to conclude anything except: They are laying the groundwork for a "Prohibited Persons" list that will rival the No Fly list.
These folks fight like the Soviets: They wage war over generations. They also move by divide & conquer. Wife-beaters yesterday. Bi-Polar folks today. Self esteem problems is the next list we confiscate. One day they get to the last group: "Right Wing Extremist Psychotics".
With the level of damage they are bringing to every aspect of the nation, by the time they work up the guts to come for the Hard Right guns, will we care enough to bother resisting? I see Donald Sutherland at the end of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Good column, David.
Sam
III
I've always said that Mr. Savage on this is absolutely correct, liberalism is a mental disorder, we should disarm them and bar them from seeking political office immediately.
more than THAT r Mentally iLL! dont beleive me? Just go around talking to the ones who voted for O'. U'll be convinced!! : )
David when you look at the numbers, the 20% figure of All adults in this country allegedly suffering from mental illness is very close to the same number of adult gun owners.
This becomes very suspicious when you realize the corollary between the 2 numbers and how the anti-gunners like to claim gun owners are mentally ill.
David I have ALWAYS railed against these disqualifiers because they continually open the door for further infringements of our rights.
The NRA/CCRKABA is proud of the fact that they support gun control in the name of being tough on crime.
Because of past compromise and concessions from the NRA and the CCRKBA thousands and thousands of veterans and others have lost their second amendment rights due to various violations of these victimless crimes and health issues.
In a recent article by Workman he touted the line of being tough on armed criminals.
In Illinois if you’re caught with a firearm in your possession or in your vehicle without proper paper work you’re an armed criminal in the eyes of the law.
Gottlieb, LaPierre and Workman think its fine to have extended penalties for crimes in which guns were used, but seemingly are shortsighted in their understanding of liberty and what actually is a crime.
Kurt Hoffman has argued that we should be looking at the crime and not the instrument used in the crime, again something that Gottlieb, LaPierre and Workman apparently can’t seem to understand.
So David when you understand the Pandora’s Box that has been opened by the NRA/CCRKBA/SAF you realize the increased likelihood that these wild claims of mental illness will in fact be used against gun owners and their families.
David I encourage everyone, that includes LaPierre, Gottlieb and Workman to watch the latest JPFO documentary “NO GUNS FOR JEWS” it explains how gun control, even those laws that appear reasonable are dangerous to our freedom and our society.
This is not an issue of due process but an issue of the sovereign rights of man.
If we are to have any chance of restoring our nation we must reject these so-called leaders of our cause and abandon their organizations and support only those that will uphold our sovereign rights to their fullest.
There is a huge difference between being mentally ill and not being competent to handle your own affairs or knowing the difference between right and wrong. Just ask any vet now threatened with being prohibited in owning a gun because he made the mistake of believing the government wanted to help him and he went in to a VA clinic because he was a little depressed over his economic situation and needed a little help to get out of his funk so he could get back in the hunt for a job. By threatening the other rights the government is forcing people not to seek help and that is so wrong. If a person is to be prohibited from owning a gun or anything else based on mental health records then the government should be forced to take that person to court and have a jury of their peers agree after hearing all the evidence. And the government should bear the burden of the complete costs including the defense attorney of the accussed's choice. Force that on the government and I'll bet you will have two things. A voter revolt on increased taxes to cover the costs and a 99% loss rate. Force the government to come out in the open with this and it will fade away. In california a retraining order can cost you your gun rights even though the order has nothing to do with demonstrated violence only the perception that it might happen in someone's mind.
Not only did Stalin use the mental health profession to remove enemies, Hitler started his murders with "mental defectives" even before he got to the Jews, Gypsies, etc.
David I am convinced these new mental health claims will be used against people that are deemed dangerous to the State. By dangerous I mean those that question the authority of government or believe in the constitution.
Just look at what the TSA is doing, they don’t care about the outcry from the people. The TSA/Government believes we may not like what’s going on but eventually we the people will rollover and comply.
I believe the same thing will happen with gun owners when TSA types start confiscating guns in the name of mental health. The average gun owner will whine and pout but comply.
I also expect the NRA/CCRKBA to claim that law-abiding gun owners should/would comply with government confiscation while they fund raise and file a couple of law suites. Mean while they will continue to support gun control in the name of being tough on crime
I also believe that because patriots are also Christians, conservatives we think that if we are passive and led by example we will change the hearts and minds of the jackals in power.
IT’S NOT WORKING!!!!
We witness sovereign U.S. citizens being herded into "Free Speech Zones" whenever a presidential motorcade comes to town.
All major networks carry "business as usual" comments by the president and his predecessor, the previous and present vice-presidents, FBI, and military leaders defending the use of torture,...er, enhanced interrogation techinques, and "foreign rendition".
The latest debacle presents TSA thugs groping the genetalia of 3 yr. old kids and 80 yr. old ladies...in America! What's next, TSA patrols manning terrorist checkpoints on roadways throughout the country and forcing grandma face-down onto the concrete? It's needed to keep us safe, doncha know..
With living examples as these fresh in mind, how hard is it to envision a usurpation of power which includes the confiscation of firearms with or without a finding of "mental abberation"?
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