Yesterday I talked about some of the myths surrounding the NRA's position on legislation introduced by New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg that would empower the attorney general to deny Second Amendment rights to individuals at will, without due process of law.
Today I want to talk about the NRA's position on mental health records and the National Instant Check System, or NICS.
I've seen some talk by gun owners that the NRA supports this, or wants that, and I want to be crystal clear.
The NRA has always supported including the records of individuals adjudicated mentally defective in the National Instant Background Check System. But we don't support adding people who have not been adjudicated mentally defective to the system.
Let's say that as a child, you went to a therapist because your parents got divorced. You shouldn't have your rights stripped from you. If you take an anti-depressant to stop smoking or for depression, you shouldn't have your rights stripped from you.
There is a process the courts use to adjudicate mental defectives, and it doesn't involve having your rights taken away because you had an eating disorder, or because you lost a spouse two years ago, or because you took Ritalin in the third grade.
The NICS system should include the records of those who've been adjudicated mentally defective, and should exclude those who are not adjudicated mentally defective.
We believe in making NICS work as Congress intended, but that doesn't mean expanding to include the personal records of the millions who seek and get coping help as they should.
That's our position, whether the media reports it or not.
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