Basically he doesn’t want to end up on tv doing something stupid being out of his mind. He is thinking proactively to put up road block just the option to get a gun?
In my state, you lose gun rights automatically if you’ve ever been hospitalized for a mental health issue. Even if you’re released and declared healthy.
evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Assuming you mean in the US, there is a national system called NICS that basically has the FBI run a background check. Some states have additional systems to augment that.
The conditions that get you put into the “no” list are things like committing a felony, domestic violence, drug use, etc. Being committed (against their will) to a mental institution is on that list. A mental institution would have to report you with evidence to get you added to the list. Potentially, he could ask his psychiatrist to do that for him. It may not be an option, but if you brother is worried himself, that is good evidence, I think.
When you buy a gun, you have to check boxes on a form to say you aren’t a felon, addicted to drugs, a fugitive, etc. They can check the felon and fugitive part, so if you lie, you get in big trouble. Drugs, though, they obviously dont have a list, so really it’s just a way to add penalties if they can later prove that you lied (e.g., hunter biden). You couldn’t just do a drug and automatically pop onto a list.
Hackworth@piefed.ca 2 days ago
Caveat on the drug thing: There is a list of who has a medical cannabis Rx. And I suppose any prescription… do opiods count?
some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
Cannabis is the only caveat there because the nics check is federal, and medical cannabis programs are all at the state level. Cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, so the feds don’t distinguish who is a “legal” cannabis user and who is not. They do not even distinguish who is an “addict” and who is not, when it comes to cannabis.
In fact, if you do leave that box unchecked and you are a medical patient, or fail a drug test administered during some other federal legal issue, that could be considered “proof” of lying on the form, and you could be charged.
seathru@quokk.au 2 days ago
The question is: “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?”
So prescriptions should not count.
Fondots@lemmy.world 2 days ago
The exact wording is if you are an
“unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance”.
So a legal prescription to opioids shouldn’t be a disqualifier, unless you become “addicted” which could maybe be up to some interpretation, but if you stick to what your prescribed it would be pretty hard for anyone to prove an addiction
Weed is in a weird place, and I’m not 100% up on the latest stuff with that and how rescheduling will change things, but since it’s still schedule I, as far as the feds are concerned there is basically no legal use for marijuana so pretty much any use is a disqualifier. I don’t know how rigorously they check that against people who have medical cards.
CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago