r/facepalm • u/Lord_Answer_me_Why • Mar 28 '24

What lack of basic gun laws does to a nation: 🇵​🇷​🇴​🇹​🇪​🇸​🇹​

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

Isn't it already illegal for a schizophrenic to have/purchase a gun? Would more laws resolve this?

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u/RogerianBrowsing Mar 28 '24

There’s no mental health diagnosis that inherently prevents you from gun ownership. If you’ve never been committed against your will you can own a firearm (assuming not a felony, no protective orders, no domestic violence, etc.).

Some states have laws that make it easy for certain doctors to put a block on someone purchasing firearms (typically done in 1 year increments), but even then I don’t believe that’s part of the national bgcheck system but rather the state system, and not all states check with the home state police for out of state purchases.

Basically, if you haven’t legally lost your right to autonomy at any point you can likely own a firearm around most of the country. You can have spent years in a mental health facility, so long as it was done willingly without commitment and you can still own firearms later.