Restoring Gun Rights to the Mentally Ill

Care 2 published a very thoughtful article on this complicated situation.

The horror stories are truly horrifying. What gun rights advocates seem to be forgetting is that having a gun carries a significant amount of responsibility. Access to firearms is not an inalienable right, it’s a serious social liability. There are some people who are proven to have mental illness and may not misuse guns. But authorities need to be more than completely sure that people who have access to guns can use them responsibly before they give them to anyone – much less people who have been legally denied their gun rights. This Fourth of July, with all of our talk about rights and freedoms, let’s remember that being an American also involves an obligation to preserve the safety of our country and communities. And that means erring on the side of caution when it comes to dispensing gun rights.

I love this line:

Access to firearms is not an inalienable right, it’s a serious social liability.

And I love the idea about "erring on the side of caution." In fact, I go much further. I say one strike you're out, and I consider any misuse of a firearm or any type of disqualification as a "strike." And by "out," I mean forfeiture of gun rights for life.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.