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Ron Paul: On Mental Health Screening For Firearm Purchases

“GOOD WAY TO DECREASE LIBERTY, POOR WAY TO INCREASE SECURITY” By Ron Paul || Last week Americans were shocked and saddened by another mass killing, this one near a college campus in California. We all feel deep sympathy for the families of the victims. As usual, many people responded to…

“GOOD WAY TO DECREASE LIBERTY, POOR WAY TO INCREASE SECURITY”

By Ron Paul || Last week Americans were shocked and saddened by another mass killing, this one near a college campus in California. We all feel deep sympathy for the families of the victims.

As usual, many people responded to this shooting by calling for new federal gun control laws, including the mental health screening of anyone attempting to purchase a firearm. There are a number of problems with this proposal. Federally-mandated mental health screenings would require storing mental health records in a government database. This obviously raises concerns about patient privacy and doctor-patient confidentiality, as well as the threat of identity theft. Anyone who doubts that these are legitimate concerns should consider the enormous privacy problems with the Obamacare website; some have even suggested that healthcare.gov be renamed indentifytheft.gov.

Giving government the power to bar some Americans from owning guns by labeling them as “mentally ill” could easily lead to serious abuses. Even authors of mental health manuals admit that mental health diagnoses are subjective and can be based on “social constructions.” Thus, anyone whose behavior deviates from some “norm” could find himself deprived of his second amendment, and possibly other, rights.

People could be even be labeled “mentally ill” because they are outspoken critics of the government. Currently, as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s “Operation Vigilant Eagle” program, veterans who express dissatisfaction with government polices run the risk of being labeled mentally-unstable terrorist threats. There has also been at least one federally-funded violence prevention program that determined that holding certain political and social views indicates a propensity for violence. So there is precedent for labeling those with unpopular political beliefs as being “mentally ill.”

We have also seen how US presidents from both parties have used the IRS to target political opponents. Imagine the potential for abuse if those same politicians had access to the mental health records of their political opponents, or the power to label opponents mentally ill because those opponents were “dissatisfied” with the government?

People who say that the threat to liberty posed by mental health screenings is outweighed by the enhanced security they provide should consider that expanding background checks and mental health screening is unlikely to make us safer. Professor Richard Alan Freedman, director of the Psychopharmacology Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, has written that it is imposable to predict whether an individual will act in a violent manner.

One effective way to limit mass shootings may be to repeal gun control laws that, by disarming the law-abiding, turn the innocent into victims. Like most recent shootings, this one took place in a location where the attacker could be confident his intended targets could not defend themselves. It is interesting that even though the attacker used hammers and knives on some of the victims, no one is calling for background checks on those wishing to purchase hammers.

Instead of focusing on passing more laws, our focus should be replacing the entitlement culture with a culture of self-responsibility and respect for the rights of others. Government can help this process by ending its routine violation of our rights and the use of violence as a means to achieve domestic and foreign policy goals. This is not to suggest that government policies are directly responsible for the shootings, but it is not unreasonable to suggest that growing up in a time of preemptive war may feed a deranged person’s delusion that violence is a proper way to deal with personal frustrations. Fixing the culture is much more difficult than passing new laws but is the only way to guarantee our liberty and our security.

ron paul

Ron Paul is a former U.S. Congressman from Texas and the leader of the pro-liberty, pro-free market movement in the United States. His weekly column – reprinted with permission – can be found here.

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120 comments

JimBob June 2, 2014 at 9:43 am

God when will this man shut up. Why can’t he realize that other than a few people with tin foil on their head, nobody gives a damn what he thinks.

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Sandi Morals June 2, 2014 at 9:56 am

LMAO! Advice from Ron Paul on ‘mental health’ issues is like advice from that great constitutional scholar Hussein Obama on following the Constitution-WORTHLESS!

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GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 9:57 am

Exactly…and it’s like Bagdad Bob, or FITS, pontificating on the virtues of Truth….LMAO…

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idiotwind June 2, 2014 at 11:26 am

well actually wasn’t the guy a professor of constitutional law at harvard? i mean i know he doesn’t hunt critters and all, but maybe he can hold a conversation about the constitution.

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Sandi Morals June 2, 2014 at 11:31 am

Only conversations this clown can have is with DOJ Holder on how to destroy the Constitution without getting impeached.
That and how to help the muslim brotherhood and radical islamists in the world. The 5 terrorists he just released should replenish the leadership of the terrorists very well.

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The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 12:06 pm

Actually, no he was not a “professor of constitutional law”, he was a “lecturer”.

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SCBlues June 2, 2014 at 2:45 pm

RELEASE FROM UC:

UC Law School statement: The Law School has received many media requests about Barack Obama, especially about his status as “Senior Lecturer.” From 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Barack Obama served as a professor in the Law School. He was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004, during which time he taught three courses per year. Senior Lecturers are considered to be members of the Law School faculty and are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track. The title of Senior Lecturer is distinct from the title of Lecturer, which signifies adjunct status. Like Obama, each of the Law School’s Senior Lecturers have high-demand careers in politics or public service, which prevent full-time teaching. Several times during his 12 years as a professor in the Law School, Obama was invited to join the faculty in a full-time tenure-track position, but he declined.

A Question June 4, 2014 at 10:22 am

“Like Obama, each of the Law School’s Senior Lecturers have high-demand careers in politics or public service, which prevent full-time teaching.”

What was his high demand career at the time? I truly ask this out of curiosity and with no agenda.

SCBlues June 2, 2014 at 7:38 pm

Uh – actually he was – see the release from the UC Law School.

The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 7:45 pm

Read it, quoting from it, “…He was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004, during which time he taught three courses per year…“. The rest is self serving obfuscation.

I am a “lecturer” at the chicken coop. I am not on a tenure track, thus, I am not a professor, every university in the country except UC Law (who has a dog in the fight) would agree with my assessment.

SCBlues June 2, 2014 at 8:05 pm

Nope – you are 100% wrong – yet you’ll never, ever admit it – ever. Your entire post is self-serving obfuscation. And I hate to inform you that you do not get to speak for every university in the country. Total bullshit – as usual.

The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 8:32 pm

You probably still believe you’ll get to keep your doctor if you like him don’t you?

SCBlues June 3, 2014 at 8:28 am

LOL Why would I not believe it? I did get to keep my doctor.
And nice job of changing the subject.

The Colonel June 3, 2014 at 8:50 am

Not a subject change at all, just confirming your status as a sycophant – thanks for playing.

SCBlues June 3, 2014 at 1:21 pm

LOL Yes – it was a total subject change – right there in black and white – your credibility is sure taking a hit – not that I believe what you post on here anyway. (And are you speaking for yourself or every university in the country?? LOL)

Jay Ellington June 2, 2014 at 12:45 pm

We all know that age old phrase about keeping your enemies closer… Barry is an enemy of the constitution, but I still question whether or not he really knows it all that well.

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TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 4:49 pm

A good mechanic can build an engine capable of winning the Daytona 500. If he desires…he can tear the same engine apart in almost no time.

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You're wasting your time June 2, 2014 at 1:21 pm

“nobody gives a damn what he thinks”

Yet you felt compelled to respond.

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GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 9:54 am

When you try to Tri-angulate: like FITS, RonPaul, and Sanford..You STRANGULTE….

LMAO…These F*#king idiots tell us the gov’t has no right to keep fiends from heroin, Ho’s and Dope…

But when an opportunity comes along to exploit the deaths of some innocent Americans…because some leftwing narcissist is told he has to earn a woman, like everybody else, he acts like a spoiled brat, that liberal-Tarians and liberals have produced, and starts blowing away any babe in sight…

FITS tells y’all the skanks are yours for the taking, if you just cool-out and light up a “J” like him…

But when human nature is calculated in, Liberal-Tarians collapse upon themselves….

And remember: FITS – and Lizenby -DEMANED due process for child-killing terrorists…now this stupid piece of $#!t is going to TELL us he wants to deny guns…to the crazy…Why is that not totalitarian, like they tell us everything is….

Dumb@$$#$ will always hang themselves, given enough rope…

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junior justice June 2, 2014 at 10:25 am

Dumb@$$#$ will always hang themselves, given enough rope…
—–
GT, being in agreement with you on this statement, I give you this suggestion” — take your 3″ penis, wrap it around your pencil neck, and say, “Goodbye, cruel world.”

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Sandi Morals June 2, 2014 at 10:50 am

Why so angry? Your boy Obama just broke the law and rescued a traitor over the weekend.The soldier had deserted and put his fellow soldiers at risk. Emails from him read that he hated and was embarrassed to be an American.Obama got a 2 for 1. Damn with the Constitution and rescue an American hating soldier to gin up the Jane Fonda crowd.
Obama’s kinda soldier as he hates and is embarrassed to be an American.
And the former American soldier in Mexico continues to be held and tortured.Go figure,

Reply
Planned Parent Trap June 2, 2014 at 11:09 am

Hope you and GT are using condoms…

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junior justice June 2, 2014 at 12:01 pm

The “jab” is for GT only — I needed to punch someone this morning and he was available.

GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 12:17 pm

You broke your fist. When you’re corrupt, stupid and a liar…you always look like a D*#mb@$$…and that “FITS” you so well…

junior justice June 2, 2014 at 12:24 pm

????? —

GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 12:42 pm

Thanks for proving my point. We’re you’re stupid…you always look like a Dumb@$$…

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 3, 2014 at 1:19 pm

GT said:

“We’re you’re stupid…”

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 3, 2014 at 1:19 pm

Badoom psssshhhhhh!

junior justice June 2, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Sandi, Lil’ Benito is showing his bony ass again with this incident. His excuses (together with his cohort cockroaches) wouldn’t hold my hot piss. This is part of his program – don’t be surprised if this coward/traitor is given a Medal of Honor.
PS: NEVER EVER align me with the GrandTango Group — I just enjoy giving them some humorous slaps and would like to think that the rest of you enjoy them.

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GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 12:16 pm

C’mon, Sandi. You know Obama only gets credit. He is NEVER responsible for all his favor. Nor does he have to account for one F*#k up after another…

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TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 8:36 pm

….take your 3″ penis, wrap it

TBG suspects that when, through a a combination of Viagra and gay porn, GT’s penis reaches it’s full nearly 3″ engorgement….it ain’ wrappin’ roun’ nuttin’.

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Komp Pre Hint Schon June 2, 2014 at 11:06 am

…now this stupid piece of $#!t is going to TELL us he wants to deny guns…to the crazy…Why is that not totalitarian, like they tell us everything is….

Try reading the damn piece next time, dipshit.

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SolitaryPillar June 2, 2014 at 1:33 pm

Yes but it was not these F*#king idiots that created a relatively small country (5% of world’s population) with 25% of people globally in prison. Yes we are such a soft liberal country, or maybe it is dumb@$$*$ like you running this country that obviously do not know either what you are doing or what you are talking about.

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GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 2:02 pm

Hate America Much???

I’d LOVE to see you Escorted by GUN…and exiled to one of these A$$-Backwards Cesspools of humanity, that you think are so much better…Then I’d LOVE to see you Run You F*#king mouth, after you figure out that murdering those not like you, ain’t so romantic..

Liberal America-Haters are Ignorant, non-traveled, Brain Dead F*#Ks, like you…who think what some Dope-Smoking, hedonist Guru feeds you….is Gospel..

And you’re so Stupid, naive and uneducated…you believe it…

Reply
You Look Stupid June 2, 2014 at 3:22 pm

WELL, LOOK AT ALL THAT CAPITALIZING!!

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GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 3:25 pm

But America-Hating is fine w/ you…

As long you Dumb@$$ liberals admit who, and what, you are, instead of the lies you normally tell……That’s what will do you in…

You Look Stupid June 2, 2014 at 6:29 pm

Not hating on America, just feeling sorry for your keyboard…your dick must look really beat.

GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 6:45 pm

You liberals will always try to lie and deny about who, and what, you are.

You Look Stupid June 2, 2014 at 6:58 pm

I guess you caught me there, good buddy. Yes, I hate America, I really don’t feel sorry for your keyboard, and you have the prettiest penis in the trailer park.

CNSYD June 2, 2014 at 10:17 am

I believe we need to stop all background checks for the military, civilian employees, contractors, etc. involved in defense. The records of these checks are stored in government databases. Why the “government” could use this data against them and even deny them a security clearance.

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Gov't Mule June 2, 2014 at 1:24 pm

“I believe we need to stop all background checks for the military, civilian employees, contractors, etc. involved in defense.”

Cause it seemed to work for Snowden, Manning, etc.

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CNSYD June 2, 2014 at 2:34 pm

You can give someone an ethics test. If they can pass it, will they always be ethical?

A National Agency Check with inquires (NACI) is required of all people in positions of public trust. It does not grant you a security clearance. That takes more checking. One check is a credit check. Why is this important? It can gauge your financial vulnerability to “selling” intelligence. Also any information that could make you a potential candidate for blackmail is investigated.

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Darla June 2, 2014 at 11:20 am

the issue will never ever be settled because the NRA got its way and keeps its way. we are a violent society, get used to it and thank the GOP and the NRA for it.

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Sandi Morals June 2, 2014 at 11:27 am

Darla we are a violent society because democrats don’t believe in the sanctity of life,love killing the unborn and the new ‘death’ lists at the VA and Obamacare.

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The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 12:09 pm

Don’t leave out the part about liberals cheapening the value of life by routinely letting violent criminals walk, doing away with the ultimate penalty for murder and supporting violent felons rather than their victims…

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Jay Ellington June 2, 2014 at 12:17 pm

Yes, Richland County solicitor Dan Johnson is public enemy #1.

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Log in your eye June 2, 2014 at 1:23 pm

Cause killing 500K Iraqi civilians is certainly sanctifying life.

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The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 1:27 pm

And the US killed 500,000 Iraqis?

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SolitaryPillar June 3, 2014 at 1:28 pm

Nearly half a million people have died from war-related causes in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003, according to an academic study published in the United States on Tuesday.

That toll is far higher than the nearly 115,000 violent civilian deaths reported by the British-based group Iraq Body Count, which bases its tally on media reports, hospital and morgue records, and official and non-governmental accounts.

The latest estimate by university researchers in the United States, Canada and Baghdad in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health covers not only violent deaths but other avoidable deaths linked to the invasion, insurgencies and subsequent social breakdown.

SolitaryPillar June 3, 2014 at 1:37 pm

Both Democrats and Republicans are violent war mongers. 25% of Global prison population is in the United States. This is mainly because of drugs, which can be broken down to Dems and Repubs not being satisfied with other people choosing to use drugs. Also, doesn’t it make you sick that someone stealing food to feed their family might get 20 years while white collar crooks stealing millions get months or possibly are not even charged with anything?

In regards to the death toll in Iraq, which is over 500,000; more innocents were killed which is far worse than killing combatants. This especially true considering we went in under manufactured reasons. If you do not realize that by now, there is no reason to tell you anything.

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Jay Ellington June 2, 2014 at 12:02 pm

You are free to choose not to protect yourself Darla. 8-9 shots fired in the Vista last weekend… I’d rather have a gun and not need one, than the alternative.

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euwe max June 2, 2014 at 1:13 pm

Not having a gun is advertising your desire to get shot.

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Jay Ellington June 2, 2014 at 1:15 pm

I don’t think anyone “desires” to get shot, I just think advertising not having a gun leaves you vulnerable to those with guns who mean to do you harm.

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euwe max June 2, 2014 at 1:17 pm

I was asking for it.

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 3:56 pm

Somehow…TBG suspects that you are *adapts Texas drawl* one of them thar libruls (like Smirks) that packs heat.

euwe max June 2, 2014 at 4:25 pm

I got guns – in Texas, it’s always a shootout on Saturday nights, and I don’t want ta be the only one with a knife. Superior firepower… it’s the other white meat.

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 8:31 pm

Col. Colt was a *peaceful * man.

“Blessed are the Peacemakers…”

*beatific smile*

euwe max June 3, 2014 at 1:40 am
TontoBubbaGoldstein June 3, 2014 at 7:22 am

*Shuffles poker chips…Concentrates.*

“Raise.”

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/Walmart-Bible-theft-687243

euwe max June 3, 2014 at 10:40 am

[internal dialogue] There is a six-straight up and the flush. I have to wonder how many ways he can have a worse one pair… but even more to the point…how many ways can he have better one pair or two pair? I’m trying to think… has he ever check-called a hand better than one pair on the turn? Is he capable of that? Is he capable of folding something like Q-3 suited on the river? He has such a subtle wrist! Does he think that I think about what he is capable of? I’ve heard he plays by the sense of smell… Does he know what I expect him to be capable of?… perhaps my subterfuge has worked, and he’s discounted my skill… Is his ego in play… would he ever hero-call with a hand worse than that? How do you get this far without some perspicuity? What does he think I have; he must know that I never bluff this river right? He has to! Does he expect me to turn a bottom pair type hand into a bluff? I think he has a lot of stuff like J-J with the turned flush draw, but surely he folds that, right? I think he can have a random two pair or straight, or the occasional tricky slow-played big hand. I should fold… [/internal dialogue]

“I’ll see your defective gallbladder and raise you one heart murmur and a kidney stone!”

[pushing stack towards the center of the table]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Greenspan%2C_Alan_%28Whitehouse%29.jpg

‘those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect share-holder’s equity, myself especially, are in a state of shocked, disbelief. Such counterpart surveillance is a central pillar of our financial market state of balance. If it fails, as occurred this year, market stability is undermined.’

Libertarianism and Objectivism could not exist were it not for massive, government funded infrastructure. This includes the Internet,

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 3, 2014 at 4:14 pm

Hmmmmm…..back over the top…..

Call?

Raise?

Fold?

*TBG pictures euwe windmilling his hand, ala Pete Townshend [Who? Yes.] and slamming the winning cards to the felt.*

*Sheepishly folds*

euwe max June 3, 2014 at 4:33 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT5nJkUTNpc

[rakes in the defective gallbladder]

Same ol' Same ol' June 2, 2014 at 4:39 pm

just post the sign on your person that you abhor guns and would never, ever carry one or have one in your home. be sure to leave your address.

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idiotwind June 2, 2014 at 11:23 am

fuck this guy is so fucking stupid i can’t believe this fucking idiot has a constituency. but this is fucking america and you cannot be too stupid to have a gun and a political base.

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Same ol' Same ol' June 2, 2014 at 4:37 pm

fuck yeah.

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TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 8:28 pm

Fuckin’ A!

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TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 8:27 pm

Fuck You!!!

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E-G-B-D-F June 2, 2014 at 11:27 am

E-G-B-D-F

Every good boy deserves firearms.

As American as apple pie, the flag, and your mother.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EGBDF

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Smirks June 2, 2014 at 11:40 am

Paul’s a bit wrong here. He seems to be thinking the government is going to declare a bunch of people insane for having whatever political leanings or being part of whatever non-mainstream movement. That’s full of shit. People usually are diagnosed with mental health issues by private sector health professionals, i.e. parents taking their kid to get evaluated due to issues they observe themselves.

What Paul is likely referring to are the extremist nutjobs that hoard guns and ammo and have paranoid delusions and believe in just about any and every conspiracy theory. you know, the ones that put “MOLON LABE” on their pickup truck, join militias that protect ranchers who don’t pay federal land use fees every other rancher does, have wet dreams about having to go out in a blaze of glory from government workers breaking into their house to “take their guns,” even putting their spouse and kids in front of them so they’ll die first and create a bigger news story in their sick fucked-up fantasies. These nutjobs support Ron Paul, and Ron Paul already told us he supports nutjobs like these.

I see nothing wrong with someone who has a mental illness who has been verified as such by multiple doctors being flagged on the background check that happens before they attempt to purchase a gun. If the government is flagging based on what multiple physicians say then the liability lies on the physicians themselves. Paul’s little stupid conspiracy theory falls flat.

Besides that, the NSA likely keeps track of fucking everything anyways, so the government has a far more useful and easier tool to use to silence dissent if it really wanted to.

EDIT: In the event that someone disputes being flagged as mentally unstable, they should be able to contest it in court, with their own medical professionals giving their opinions in defense, etc. Pit the doctors against doctors and if one or more doctors comes across as a quack, do something about them.

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junior justice June 2, 2014 at 12:20 pm

I think the VA has changed the question asked with each visit from “do you have a firearm?” to “do you have access to a firearm?” My last general health visit three weeks ago my doctor asked that, and I asked her if that meant do I actually have a firearm in my home, or do I know people who have firearms. For example, if I borrowed one to go hunting or target with friends, or just wanted to see someone’s new purchase. Her answer, after about 10 seconds of hesitation while reading the question to herself, was that it meant having one in the home.

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Jay Ellington June 2, 2014 at 12:34 pm

Gubmint, making it up as they go.

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CorruptionInColumbia June 2, 2014 at 2:52 pm

That’s okay. It is sheer fantasy to believe that our government is capable of doing evil to the citizenry.

(sarcasm out)

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SolitaryPillar June 2, 2014 at 1:21 pm

The vast majority of people who have a mental illness are not violent,
and more important, the vast majority of people who commit violence are not mentally ill.

Cut and paste from Forbes article.

In regards to what the federal govt is capable of, just look at the fact that they wire-tap our phones and execute people all the time with drones, including US citizens. You must be a nut to be so trusting of the most massive government to ever exist – which spends more on military than the next 10 biggest spenders combined.

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The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 1:26 pm

I’d challenge you assertion that the “…majority of people who commit violence are not mentally ill…” It may have something to do with your construct of “commit violence” but prisons are swamped with mentally ill folks. Got a source for that one?

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SolitaryPillar June 3, 2014 at 1:22 pm

FROM FORBES ARTICLE (CUT AND PASTE)

A generalization of that observation is that any similar reporting regarding mental illness and this man’s actions does the same for people who have a mental health condition. For some perspective, one in four of us in the United States, at least, has a mental disorder of some kind. The vast majority of people who have a mental illness are not violent, and more important, the vast majority of people who commit violence are not mentally ill.

They are, however, angry. And if there’s one thing I’m pretty sure we can all agree on about Rodger or Lanza or the many other under- or unreported mass murders, 40% of which begin with domestic violence and the overwhelming majority of which are committed by men, it’s this: Anger is the common factor. Not mental illness. Not autism. Not even misogyny is the common factor (women are not always the targets or victims), although that mixed with hatred and guns obviously makes for a deadly and horrific combination. Nope. It’s anger. We don’t need to read between the lines of Rodger’s manifesto to find what lurked beneath. That anger is right there, in his words and his
video, staring us in the face, a reflection of our culture and
ourselves.

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The Colonel June 3, 2014 at 2:04 pm

Are we still talking about this – I thought the recovery of the traitor Bergdhal would have caused us to move on…

Anyway, here’s what Human Rights Watch says:

“…In 1998, the BJS reported there were an estimated 283,000 prison and jail inmates who suffered from mental health problems. That number is now estimated to be 1.25 million. The rate of reported mental health disorders in the state prison population is five times greater (56.2 percent) than in the general adult population (11 percent).

Women prisoners have an even higher rate of mental health problems than men: almost three quarters (73 percent) of all women in state prison have mental health problems, compared to 55 percent of men….

Huffpo sums it this way: .”..A 2006 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that over half of all jail and prison inmates have mental health issues…”

The issue here is which prisons are we talking about – Federal prisons have few “violent offenders” and fairly low mental health issues. State prisons are loaded with violent offenders and more than half (56%) are mentally ill – doesn’t excuse their behavior but they are diagnosable as mentally ill.

The Treatment Advocacy Center and National Sheriff’s Association say that there are more mentally ill people in prison than in hospitals: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/documents/final_jails_v_hospitals_study.pdf

Smirks June 2, 2014 at 1:56 pm

The vast majority of people who have a mental illness are not violent, and more important, the vast majority of people who commit violence are not mentally ill.

If a private doctor finds someone to be mentally unstable to such a degree that they pose a danger to themselves and others, I’m inclined to listen to their professional opinion. If there is a consistent diagnosis from multiple doctors, that is certainly not something I would ignore. That does not mean any mental illness, regardless of severity or how treatable it is. No one here is suggesting that.

You must be a nut to be so trusting of the most massive government to ever exist – which spends more on military than the next 10 biggest spenders combined.

What does that have to do with stopping crazies from buying guns? Should I run red lights too because some of the cops writing the tickets are corrupt? Or should I still be restricted from posing a serious danger to others even if those enforcing the laws aren’t saints themselves?

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CorruptionInColumbia June 2, 2014 at 11:58 am

Once again, Ron Paul hits the nail on the head. Too bad this country, and the Republican Party in particular, screwed the pooch by putting him on the back burner. What is scary, is comments by many on here and some I gave credit for better, against him. One day, his words of wisdom will be looked back on for the truth they held, not ridiculed by those whose heads are buried firmly in the sand.

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The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 12:11 pm

CC, Ron climbed onto the back burner “all by hisself” with his goofy ideas. Like the blind squirrel, Ol’Ronbo finds a nut once in a while but the rest of the time the nut he finds is the one looking back at him from the mirror.

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SolitaryPillar June 2, 2014 at 12:50 pm

Really? Which position is goofy? Legalizing pot? Stopping foreign aggression? Wanting a smaller government? Protecting our freedoms? Not wiretapping our phones?

My guess is you are a troll and, according to your words, fully for a huge government and less freedom.

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The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 1:08 pm

I’ve been accused of being a troglodyte on occasion but never a troll.

We’ll just look at a few of Ol’Ronbo’s ideas:

Plan to Restore America – cut immediately 1 trillion dollars from the budget. (As much as I’d like it to happen it can’t. It would be an unmitigated disaster and you would never get enough congressional support to pass it. Additionally, he plans to “end the war” to save $200,000,000,000 in one year – it just don’t work that way, Had he suggested phasing this plan in over 3-5 years maybe he has a starting place)

On Osama Bin Laden – He said “… “absolutely was not necessary.”“I don’t think it was necessary, no. It absolutely was not necessary… I think respect for the rule of law and world law and international law. What if he’d been in a hotel in London? We wanted to keep it secret, so would we have sent the airplane, you know the helicopters into London, because they were afraid the information would get out?…” I’m not even sure where to start here. If we had focused on Bin Laden to start with none of the intervening 14 years would have been necessary.

Funny thing, I think we should legalize pot and do a number of the things Paul favors – Paul general does more harm than good when he comes out in favor of a position because of the odd focus and his inability to clearly delineate a position or a policy. Saying I plan to “stop government intrusion” doesn’t get it done.

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The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 1:18 pm

Then there’s this gem from the debates:

“…Every time you think about this toughness on the border and ID cards and REAL IDs, think it’s a penalty against the American people too. I think this fence business is designed and may well be used against us and keep us in. In economic turmoil, the people want to leave with their capital and there’s capital controls and there’s people controls. Every time you think about the fence being used to keep all those bad people out, think about the fences being used against us, keeping us in.”

SolitaryPillar June 2, 2014 at 2:09 pm

I have something for you to think about. It was never hard to keep foreigners out. All they had to do was start going around to construction companies and restaurants and start laying down heavy fines. It was always easy. What is easier, driving up and down the border desert or going from restaurant to restaurant along all the restaurant rows all over the USA? Fact is economic interests wanted the illegal immigration, and all the fence rhetoric is just that when it comes to keeping illegals out.

So if it is not really to keep illegals out, then exactly what is it for? There has been a lot of talk about govt purchases of ammunition and the building of facilities that could be used as detainment camps. Combine that with relaxed laws in regards to who is a terrorist and whether they are due a trial and you can see all of the conspiracies spreading. It all actually makes more sense than building a wall to keep illegals out.

I’m not sold on the idea of detaining US citizens, after all it is more than possible our government is run by dumb@$$#$ and special interests lining their pockets to the point they may spend a fortune on anything.

The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 2:18 pm

Please spell out your bad words or just use &@^#%. When you write dumb@$$#$ we naturally assume you’re related to GT. Everyone who comes here knows what a dumbass is and most of us can spell it. You won’t shock anyone, I promise.
I concur that one place to start is by fining the bejeebus out of those industries employing illegal aliens. I agree that there are a number of economic factors preventing Congress from getting serious. I disagree that patrolling our own borders is necessarily anymore costly than what we’re doing now. Give the mission to the military and let them use it as a training event. The occasional shot up illegal while ugly is probably better than being sold into the sex trade. If you think every wetback that comes over the border is doing it vying for economic freedom and opportunity, you’re deluded. we have enough illegals here now to last for quite a while. Close the damn border.
Your tinfoil hat is beginning to show through a little.

SolitaryPillar June 2, 2014 at 3:00 pm

Again, don’t really wan’t illegals, they are not hard to find. You really do not have to run them down at night over thousands of miles of desert. Again, fence conversation is just rhetoric. I don’t know what kind of hat you are wearing, but the fence conversation makes me think it is made of BS.

Our current patrolling is a waste of money. Those caught just try again. Another example of wasted govt spending accomplishing nothing. Putting armies on the border is not training for anything and would be another waste of money.

Rhetoric saying one thing and big-spending take-advantage Republicans doing another.

euwe max June 3, 2014 at 4:11 am

Our current patrolling is a waste of money. Those caught just try again.

——
are you claiming no improvement?

Creating more terrorists? June 3, 2014 at 8:22 am

lol…does that really seem like a dubious claim that he’s making?

euwe max June 3, 2014 at 9:53 am

Improvement should always be considered a positive.

Blocked by the Republicans at every turn, the administration has tried to fashion what is at least a more sensible policy than the one it inherited. It has continued to strengthen border security, driving illegal crossings down to their lowest level in four decades. Although Republicans hate to admit it, the U.S.-Mexico border, manned by a record number of border patrol agents, is now under tighter control than at any time in recent memory.

At the same time, the administration developed an aggressive deportation policy that replaced Republican-era random sweeps at workplaces with the targeted removal of dangerous and criminal immigrants.

As part of that effort, it widened a program known as Secure Communities, which is designed to identify jailed immigrants who may be deportable under immigration laws and has been generally successful in removing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes, according to a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.

In one recent example of its aggressive policy, hundreds of immigration agents fanned out in every state at the end of March, arresting more than 3,100 undocumented foreigners, about half of them with felony convictions.

Unlike the Republican-era drunken walk – there are clear proposals with teeth in them… it’s now up to the Republicans to yield to these new proposals or propose alternatives. http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/strengthening-enforcement

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 3:53 pm

Please spell out your bad words …

“Dumb@$$” is a FITSNEWS meme, thanks to GT.

Same ol' Same ol' June 2, 2014 at 4:36 pm

methinks solitary pillar, or whotever, has been outed. it’s just GT (who is an agent provocateur) as a sock puppet.

The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 5:35 pm

Don’t give GT that much credit, dumb azz, dumb@$$ and dumb bass have been around as long as there have been moderated bulletin boards.

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 6:52 pm

Don’t give GT that much credit, dumb azz,..

Kind of ambiguous use of punctuation there, Chief! : )

TBG’s favorite has always been “p0rn”.

The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 7:37 pm

Maybe I should have used a semicolon there…

Smirks June 2, 2014 at 2:26 pm

Illegal immigration isn’t seriously tackled because a lot of people profit from it and those people lobby Congress.

The wall hasn’t been built because of the above and then some. Democrats being pretty much against it entirely hurts a lot. Republicans not being too excited about the cost of it and the fact that it will only make illegal immigration a slightly more difficult thing to do hurts even more. In fact, the only reason Republicans really tout it is because their base likes the idea.

These are pretty easily observable facts.

Finding a way to bend that into some kind of Orwellian government hellbent on trapping the poor citizenry behind an impenetrable wall is pure fantasyland bullshit. I’m sure in Paul’s little world, the wall is guarded 24/7 by armed drones programmed to target “the resistance.” This evil genius plot, of course, being pulled off by the government too screwed up to give decent care to veterans at the VA.

No, I think I’ll stick with “They aren’t going to build a wall because they don’t care, and if they do, it’ll be such a crappy one that it won’t actually stop anyone anyways.”

aikencounty June 2, 2014 at 6:23 pm

Fines?
How about putting the owners in prison.
There has been a FEDERAL law for this since 1947!

SolitaryPillar June 2, 2014 at 1:18 pm

I’m sure if the currency collapses, cutting 200 billion in one year will seem minor. I think he was against killing Bin Laden because of unanswered questions and speculations, similar to those surrounding Hitler, as to whether he is really dead.

Funny how Republicans and Democrats support, through their votes, detaining prisoners without charge, spying on everyone openly, executions without due process and so on.

Who sounds crazy?

The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 1:23 pm

Try not to get caught on a battlefield out of uniform attacking US forces and you’ll stay out of Gitmo. Who exactly have we executed without trial – technically, the US Constitution applies to US Citizens on US soil. That right to keep and bear arms doesn’t work well in Canada. The right to free speech doesn’t work well in China and the right to due process has never been applied to enemy combatants unless they surrender and are captured and then only at the cessation of hostilities.

Just in case you’re not sure, Hitler is and has been dead since 30 April ’45. The only people who suspect a conspiracy are the same kinds of people who’d support Paul.

SolitaryPillar June 2, 2014 at 1:49 pm

Ya and the Russian government at the time they found an unidentifiable body and fully knowing Hitler had more than one double sitting around at his convenience. Of course everyone knows Hitler would never be capable of such a thing (sarcasm). The reason some people believe it is that it is totally believable. The reason others do not is because, solely, they are told not to believe it. I would not be surprised by it because I am smart enough to know it is possible and that it is a good thing to not be lead around in my beliefs as if I were a sheep. FYI a belief is something you choose to believe because you really do not know it to be fact.

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 4:21 pm

Try not to get caught on a battlefield out of uniform attacking US forces and you’ll stay out of Gitmo.

Weren’t at least some of 5 that were swapped originally members of Afghanistan’s “legitimate” government and instead of being “caught on the battlefield”, didn’t they surrender to that ol’ commie, Rashid Dostum?

*Adjusts tin foil hat so that NSA satellites can see Ron Paul stickers*

**********************************************************************

In an alternative universe…

If Afghanistan invaded SC over some alliance that our Federal government was alleged to have made, or pipeline rights, or whatever…and TBG wandered out in his front yard and took a couple potshots with his .270, because TBG ain’ down wid Sharia an sheet….

Should TBG be sent to the equivalent of GITMO?

If Afghanistan were pulling out of SC and turning it back over to the crooks who ran it pre-invasion, should they let TBG return to his wigwam, PBRs and Synagogue?

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 8:48 pm
You're wasting your time June 2, 2014 at 1:19 pm

@ Corruption

The above is a good demonstration of what I’m saying, he’s even reasonably intelligent, so think about how many idiots out there are even worse, more violent, and have less ethics.

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 4:37 pm

Funny thing, Col.,TBG has read your stuff on this site for years and honestly believes that you probably agree with Paul on more issues than you do with any other political figure.

If you reread your last post…you seem to criticize Paul for advocating specific actions (in line with your beliefs!!!) because you don’t think they would “work’. Later on you imply that Paul doesn’t offer specific proposals…but only generalities.

TBG thinks killing UBL *may* have been unnecessary. Hell, TBG would like to think that our current leadership was intelligent enough at least attempt capture and that UBL spent some time in Diego Garcia being uh…debriefed.

The Colonel June 2, 2014 at 5:32 pm

My problem is that Paul floats these grand ideas that are all grand idea and no substance.

Immediately end the war, yeah right. We are still not finished in Iraq.
Immediately cut the budget by a trillion, yeah right. Why don’t we start with say a five percent across the board cut.
Legalize pot, hmmmmkay, how will that work?

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 6:36 pm

Immediately end the war, yeah right. We are still not finished in Iraq.

You realize you are making his point, right?

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 6:48 pm

Immediately cut the budget by a trillion, yeah right. Why don’t we start with say a five percent across the board cut.
Legalize pot, hmmmmkay, how will that work?

As far as cutting the budget goes…you have a point…Rome wasn’t built in a day. TBG is sure that Ron Paul would be as giddy as you or TBG to see an actual 5% CUT in federal spending. Overall federal spending WILL NEVER BE VOLUNTARILY CUT by our political class anyway. If the Federal budget starts being pared, it will be because the end of the Republic is nigh and you’ll probably be wondering why you used to think Ron Paul was crazy.
As far as federally legalizing pot, TBG has never been too clear on how it was Constitutionally made illegal to begin with. Nevertheless, it was illegalized in a day, it can be re-legalized in a day.

Torch June 7, 2014 at 3:58 pm

We were finished in Iraq before we went in there. Should never have invaded them. The militants keep kicking the government’s ass.

TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 8:45 pm

My guess is you are a troll and, according to your words, fully for a huge government and less freedom.

The Colonel is no troll.

Been posting here for a while. Definitely has some libertarian in his DNA. Posts a bunch of good “been there, done that’ dope on the military and mid-east foreign policy. Knows a lot of history, also…which is sadly unusual anymore.

He does spew an undeserved amount of vitriol at Dr Paul and we Ronulans, however. ITBGHO.

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You're wasting your time June 2, 2014 at 1:16 pm

Pearls cast before swine. My belief is that humanity is doomed to repeat the cycle of empire, inflation, war & implosion over and over again.

I don’t even think the average human’s intelligence in wealthy countries is increasing anymore, especially those with robust welfare systems. The collective IQ’s in such counties(USA, Europe, etc.) is decreasing, devolving, just like that movie Idiocracy.

Empire’s get massive/dominate, the population becomes fat, corrupt, stupid and then boom, another one takes it’s place. You can loop that film reel over all of human history.

Maybe one day when the average human can shoot themselves off this planet; humanity can break up into the appropriate phyles and everyone that doesn’t agree with be able to get away/leave each other alone.

In the mean time, wave that flag and be a good citizen. Our democratic republic is the greatest in the world, yada, yada, yada.

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Jay Ellington June 2, 2014 at 12:01 pm

Richard Martinez sure has an interesting way of mourning and memorializing his dead son.

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Jay Ellington June 2, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Elliot Rodger slaughtered 3 of the victims with a knife and then ran over multiple people in his car… where is the outrage and calls for more knife and automobile control? Should we start evaluating the mental stability of everyone that purchases a knife or a car? Or just outright ban knives and cars?

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euwe max June 2, 2014 at 1:11 pm

Meet you behind the liquor store – I’ll bring an AR-15, and you bring a bucket of water.

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TontoBubbaGoldstein June 2, 2014 at 3:54 pm

“Car control means being able to hit your target.”

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euwe max June 4, 2014 at 12:27 am

Yes, but can you blow someone’s brains out at 265 meters with a car from the book depository window?

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GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 12:59 pm

This POW Disaster by Obama is a MAJOR F*#k Up for you…How long will FITS — and RonPaul– try to Avoid the truth, and the implications????

You America-Haters…now have a much bigger problem than denying guns to crazy people…

The “POW” may be a TRAITOR or Deserter…and you GAVE up several future Terrorists, who will hit us again, for him…

WOW…WTF..WOW..You are some MAJOR MAJOR F*#k ups…NOTHING you say is worth listening to, when you grasp the enormity of this “POW” F*#k Up…You are the WORST….and proven fools and idiots…

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Homer June 2, 2014 at 3:09 pm

Ron Paul is right. Nobody gets into heaven without a glow stick.

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GrandTango June 2, 2014 at 3:14 pm

FITS’ got a lot of splainin’ to do…

Obama’s BIGTIME POW Screw up!!!..and y’all are still reeling from the VA fiasco…

Obama’s Susan RICE: Bergdahl Served With ‘Honor and Distinction’…

‘The title of US soldier is just the lie of fools’…

‘The horror that is America is disgusting’…

Soldier allegedly abandoned post after growing disillusioned with war…

CHARGE: Soldiers died searching for ‘deserter’…

Parents of officer killed lash out at ‘cover up’…

Resentment lingers among POW’s peers…

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nitrat June 3, 2014 at 8:27 am

We need mental health screenings for candidates for public office.

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euwe max June 3, 2014 at 2:30 pm Reply
Bob_from_Reno November 12, 2014 at 2:32 am

The mental health system as it currently stands is fear based and quite abusive. The biggest problem with fixing it involves all the people and corporations making huge amounts of money from it. See my new book – Liberty & Mental Health – You
Can’t Have One Without the Other – http://bookstore.trafford.com/Products/SKU-000906908/Liberty–Mental-Health.aspx

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