[paulskinsfan]

Originally Posted by Lady Brave

Unfortunately non US citizens do have the right to purchase firearms under federal law. The states can't override that. However, carry concealed permit holders must be citizens. There are two types of aliens - permanent residents and non-immigrants.

Permanent residents are subject to the same criminal background check as citizens, but they must also produce a valid permanent resident card, a valid state ID and 90 consecutive days proof of residency. I have never felt that aliens should have the right to purchase firearms. Especially non-immigrants since they are only in the country for short periods of time.

The thing people should be concerned most about with regards to our current gun laws is that people like me who issue permits to purchase can't ask someone if they've ever been treated for a "mental condition". I can only access records for those who have been formally committed, adjudicated incompetent, or deemed mentally defective. There are a lot of people out there who suffer from serious disorders who seek treatment on their own and they are never formally committed or found incompetent by a lawful authority. Those are the people who scare me the most and I can't do anything about it. In the past, we asked people about prior mental health histories, but I was told last week by our attorney that I couldn't do it anymore because it didn't meet the statutory requirements. I showed him numerous examples of people who suffered from schizophrenia, paranoia, delusions, bi-polar disorders, etc. and whose doctors recommended they not be given a firearm. He said he shared my concern, but they didn't qualify under the statute and he was bound by the law.

NICS can't get mental health records from some states as well because of their privacy laws. So all the crazies who want to purchase firearms at WalMart can usually do so. NICS is currently in litigation with those states because they are directly violating federal gun laws by not releasing the information. It is truly sad and it pisses me off to think that these people are getting firearms so easily. I think physicians should be required to file some sort of notice with NICS anytime they have a patient that exhibits behavior that is deemed dangerous for them to have a firearm. That's just my two cents and no one usually listens to the peons like me who have to deal with these people on a daily basis.

Thank you, this was very informative.