Sometimes ‘dangerous’ people haven’t been diagnosed with a mental illness
7/22/2016, 2:20 p.m.
Re Editorial, “One recipe for change,” July 14-16 edition:
Responding to the sentence, “We need to stop people from purchasing weapons if they are mentally ill, or on terrorist watch lists, or “no fly” list, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) was designed to justify insurance payments for psychiatric treatment. It was not designed to separate the dangerous from non-dangerous.
There are any number of people walking around with an official DSM diagnosis who are not dangerous. And there are any number of people walking around without diagnosis who are dangerous. George Zimmerman immediately jumps to mind.
As for “no fly” lists, it is worth remembering that the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts found himself on one, proving, if anything, that the list was probably compiled by a Republican. But it is certainly no guide to who should and should not carry a gun.
An adequate psychological assessment for prospective gun purchasers should take about three and a half months, like the assessment for a transportation worker identification card at the Port of Richmond, not 10 minutes.
Kenneth Nygren
Richmond
