SSA has issued a Notice of Proposed rule which would prohibit any individual from owning a gun if they have been adjudicated as, “a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution.”
Mental defective sounds pretty not PC, it has multiple criteria: 1. someone must have been found disabled due to the mental impairments SSA recognizes as disabling under Listings 12.00; 2. They must be between the ages of 18 and full retirement age; 3. The mental impairment was their primary diagnosis; and 4. SSA requires that their benefits be paid through a third party because they are incapable of managing benefit payments.
Opponents to this proposed rule raise some valid concerns; it may cause some people with mental illnesses not to seek treatment or not to apply for disability benefits. This also raises the question/argument of whether or not mentally ill people are more likely than not to be violent than non-mentally ill people.
Comments can be submitted at www.regulations.gov
Contact Us
Please visit our website: www.socialsecurityjustice.com or contact one of our Bailey & Galyen offices for additional information.
