View Full Version : Iraq Vet - Purple Heart recipient denied 2nd Amendment rights.
I thought this was pretty interesting. Article & video here: http://www.kfsm.com/news/kfsm-news-rv-iraq-veteran-stripped-of-second-amendment-rights,0,1708919.story
Due to his PTSD everyone living under their roof is denied their right to protect themselves. The government should have to go to court and prove each individual is incompetent to possess a firearm and is a violent danger to society.
But wait! Here's the NRA, the organization that "never compromises", backing more stringent background checks to include "mental competency": http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,267620,00.html.
The facts as I've read them:
•The Arkansas State Police stripped Wayne Irelan of his CHCL license.
•Irelan is a Purple Heart recipient, wounded in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
•The Irelans receive a small stipend from the Veterans Administration, due to Wayne’s wife Lana taking over the family finances.
•The Veterans Administration has declared Wayne Irelan mentally incompetent due to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
Cascades236
09-07-10, 15:16
Tragedy and complete BS
This man is being painted with the same brush as this guy was http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top%20stories/story/Gunman-from-Fridays-shooting-revealed/8Nr0gO-Fc0Ct-b_n5is_4A.cspx?rss=20
Interesting. I thought I read something that stated you had to be declared incompetent by a judge.
I also remember reading something that stated PTSD was not supposed to be something that would cause you to lose your rights.
Unbelievable...
The man fought for the right and now he cant exercise it? Simply ridiculous.
There needs to be a more percise way of determining mental competance for firearm ownership then simply saying "he has PTSD, he can't have a gun!"
My friend who served in Iraq during the second rotation as an Army scout had his firearms seized by the State of NY due to his diagnosis of PTSD. Sheriff's came to his house after he was diagnosed by the VA, held him, searched his house, and removed all his firearms.
What happened to them we don't know.
I thought I read something that stated you had to be declared incompetent by a judge.
That's how the laws usually read, but lawyers are expensive. It usually has to do with one being declared insane by the court.
Belmont31R
09-07-10, 18:46
That's how the laws usually read, but lawyers are expensive. It usually has to do with one being declared insane by the court.
I think the main things:
1. Court
2. Doctor
3. Involuntary admission for mental health reasons.
There is some gray area, of course, and leads to things like a vet going to see a doc, and the "VA" submits mental health records that pop up.
IMO its pretty sucky a doctor can get someones rights taken away just like that. Id take it to court if I could.
Not really related by my wife's uncle had to go through this but for a drug offense. Diabetic who decided to smoke pot because it made him feel better or some such BS, and the amount he had was a felony. Got his conviction expunged, and then got denied on a gun purchase. Had to go through the court that convicted him, and through the FBI NICS office to get a code to use on the 4473 so he can buy guns.
Every state tends to be different but Im sure you could get a doctors diagnosis overruled by a court if you do your part. Things like getting 2-3 other doctors to say you are fit to own guns, are not a danger to yourself or others, ect.
What really sucks is the majority of people warned that this would happen, yet the NRA etc still signed on w/ the Brady Campaign to strengthen brady in this exact manor and everyone said 'that wont happen', man i hate being right all the time!
Belmont31R
09-07-10, 19:15
What really sucks is the majority of people warned that this would happen, yet the NRA etc still signed on w/ the Brady Campaign to strengthen brady in this exact manor and everyone said 'that wont happen', man i hate being right all the time!
The NRA is like a RINO. They pay enough lip service to the true pro-2A people yet want to appear "moderate/sensible" to the middle of the road crowd.
This is complete BS. It is amazing. Yes, we were warned. Maybe with the potential political climate changing something can be orchestrated...
I would love to see this guy backed nicely and have this pushed up the courts.
What really sucks is the majority of people warned that this would happen, yet the NRA etc still signed on w/ the Brady Campaign to strengthen brady in this exact manor and everyone said 'that wont happen', man i hate being right all the time!
Yep.
Having collected guns since the mid 1970s I am stunned by how far we've come.
He should be able to get his rights restored by going through the appeal process mentioned in the article. That was part of the big debate about "NICS Improvement" after the VT killing spree.
The problem here is that the VA has competency boards that are considered "other lawful authorities" under Federal law when it comes to determining competence. It's not clear to me that when these determinations are made by the VA that the patient even necessarily knows what is going on or is notified of the import of the outcome of the decision, unlike the way you would be in a state legal system being involuntarily committed or declared incompetent by a court.
If we had had these laws back in the 70s probably about half the guys coming back from Vietnam that went into law enforcement wouldn't have been eligible.
We have lots of work in this country when it comes to mental health and protecting patient rights. Some states at this point are even stripping people of rights just based on a diagnosis, serving to increase rather than reduce any danger to society at large by discouraging the seeking of treatment from easily treated illnesses.
theblackknight
09-07-10, 20:12
All this will do is make service members NOT get help when they need it.
pilotguyo540
09-07-10, 20:27
Its not much of a "right" when it can be stripped so easily or you have to ask for permission. I know I am preaching to the choir here but this shit has gone way too far. News like this makes my blood boil.
Belmont31R
09-07-10, 20:31
All this will do is make service members NOT get help when they need it.
Sure will.
All this will do is make service members NOT get help when they need it.
Correct. Due to my diagnosis from the VA, I've already been ****ed over once by civilian medical contractors that worked for the Army. I had to get a letter from my physcological therapist stating I was functional and capable AND had always been capable of performing all duties required of me as an Infantryman. Do you really think I'm going to file a claim after that? Not unless I have no choice I'm not. If a person is truly and honestly mentally incapable of the responsibility, then I can understand it, but I know plenty of people with issues that haven't sought help due to this arbitrary attitude that if you have a diagnosis then you'll be branded for life. Hell, I only sought help because I was trying to keep my marriage together and it was a 'do something or get out' type of situation. Did it help? Yeah it did, but it's still caused me a hassle a time or two and I'll definately think twice before I ever do something like that again.
Doesn't this jive with Janet Mulletano's philosophy that Veterens are more of a terror threat than Islamic Jihadists?
arizonaranchman
09-08-10, 09:52
The assault against the 2nd Amendment will never stop. Some day they'll classify anyone convicted of a traffic violation as unfit to possess a firearm...
All this will do is make service members NOT get help when they need it.
Exactly.
GermanSynergy
09-08-10, 10:14
All this will do is make service members NOT get help when they need it.
Precisely. This is an underhanded attack on veterans by seditious left wing scum, plain and simple. What's stopping em from making ANYONE having ever been diagnosed with PTSD in instant prohibited person?
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