Just Wondering wrote in news:51754b3e$0$11537$862e30e2
@ngroups.net:

How do you get background checks for the mentally ill? First, there
would have to be a medical diagnosis of mental illness. Many mentally
ill people are never diagnosed.

Specifically because they never seek treatment. I had a family member with a serious
mental illness, and a co-worker who appeared to have one -- both of whom were certain
they had no problems at all. Serious mental illness often prevents the individual from
recognizing the extent of his problems.

Even if diagnosed, a mentally ill person may still be capable of purchasing firearms
*legally* unless there has been a finding _by a court_ that the person is mentally ill:

Form 4473 http://www.atf.gov/files/forms/downl...f-f-4473-1.pdf asks "Have you ever been
adjudicated mentally defective (which includes having been adjudicated incompetent to
manage your own affairs) or have you ever been committed to a mental institution?"

A person who has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness, and treated as an
outpatient, but has never come in contact with the court system, may truthfully and legally
answer this question "No."

Second, there would have to be a
central database of those diagnoses, which is impossible with the
doctor-patient privilege.

And illegal under [current] U.S. Federal law.

Third, how do you distinguish people who
while mentally ill represent no danger to themselves or anyone else.
Would you restrict their rights too?

How do you determine that someone is *not* a danger? In the case of an overt act or threat,
it's pretty easy to determine that someons *is* a danger to himself or others -- but what if he
never says or does anything? More to the point -- what if he simply hasn't said or done
anything *yet* ?