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Firearms and the mentally ill: A legislative overview and jurisprudential analysis
Author(s) -
Edwards Arthur A.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2370110408
Subject(s) - legislature , jurisprudence , poison control , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , politics , mentally ill , political science , nexus (standard) , injury prevention , law , criminology , legislation , state (computer science) , mental illness , psychology , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health , engineering , mental health , computer science , embedded system , algorithm
This article examines federal and state laws that prohibit the mentally ill from possessing firearms and assesses the jurisprudence that has developed as courts have applied the federal law. It argues that although there is little or no empirical data linking the mentally ill with firearms violence, legislative activity and popular political debate invariably include such restrictions on the mentally ill. Notwithstanding the proliferation of firearms and antecedent violence, this article suggests that legislators and policy‐makers must separate this issue from the broader and more emotional issue of “gun control” in order to effectuate better public policy and simultaneously protect the constitutional rights of the mentally ill.