NY State revoking gun permits of people with prescriptions for anti-anxiety meds

[Little-Acorn]

A law firm in New York State called Tresmond Law, reports that they have one or more clients whose gun permits have been revoked based on the fact that they have prescriptions from their doctors for anti-anxiety medications. The clients are fully law-abiding citizens, with no backgrounds of violence, criminal activity, or even reckless behavior.

On Friday, April 5, 2013, Tresmond Law (http://www.tresmondlaw.com) released the following statement:

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Tresmond Law's client was willing to release the information regarding his case on a redacted basis. The facts are as follows.

John Doe, an upstanding professional with no outstanding criminal convictions and no history of violent action received a letter from the Pistol Permit Department informing him that his license was immediately revoked upon information that he was seeing a therapist for anxiety and had been prescribed an anxiety drug. He was never suicidal, never violent, and has no criminal history. The New York State Department of Health is apparently conducting a search of medical records to determine who is being treated for anxiety drugs and using this as a basis for handgun license revocation.

Those are the facts. Nothing more, nothing less.

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Tresmond Law is conducting public discussion on the forum http://www.NYFirearms.com .

If reports are true, then this is a classic example of the reason why government must never be granted the authority to make decisions on which citizens should be allowed to own firearms and which citizens can't.

[fj1200]

First question; search issue?
Second question; would that information have kept him from getting his permit in the first place?

[Little-Acorn]

First question; search issue?
Second question; would that information have kept him from getting his permit in the first place?

Second question: Did they get this information from doctors violating doctor-patient confidentiality? Or from pharmacies the patients had trusted for privacy? Or....??

NY State recently passed some new gun laws. Apparently someone decided those new laws authorize the cops to do this kind of thing.

[Robert A Whit]

As if this was not predicted to happen.

Another thing on the gun issue is how CBS TV managed to come out in the open against guns for adults. They spent much of an hour dragging tears out of the surviving parents of the CT killings of kids and teachers.

[fj1200]

Second question: Did they get this information from doctors violating doctor-patient confidentiality? Or from pharmacies the patients had trusted for privacy? Or....??

NY State recently passed some new gun laws. Apparently someone decided those new laws authorize the cops to do this kind of thing.

Restrictive gun laws are one thing, changing the laws retroactively is another.

[Marcus Aurelius]

I'd like to see the text of whatever law they use as justification for this.

[Little-Acorn]

According to Wikipedia, these new gun laws (the New York SAFE Act) "Allows law enforcement officials to pre-emptively seize a person's firearms without a warrant if they have probable cause the person may be mentally unstable or intends to use the weapons to commit a crime."

Let me guess: If the NY government knows you have a prescription for certain medicines (such as anti-anxiety drugs), this is sufficient "probable cause the person may be mentally unstable".

BTW, in New York, all prescriptions for ANY drugs that require them, are copied to the state government and put in a database. So the government DOES know you have a prescription.

[jimnyc]

As you know, I am in NY. I'm also on anti-anxiety medications. Notice I had an S at the end, meaning plural. Those passing these laws can go fuck themselves, they ain't getting jack shit from me.

[red states rule]

Next up people on Blood Pressure meds, or those with either an anti Obama or Rush Limbaugh bumper sticker on their car

Looks like Dems have started to round up the guns

[Marcus Aurelius]

According to Wikipedia, these new gun laws (the New York SAFE Act) "Allows law enforcement officials to pre-emptively seize a person's firearms without a warrant if they have probable cause the person may be mentally unstable or intends to use the weapons to commit a crime."

Let me guess: If the NY government knows you have a prescription for certain medicines (such as anti-anxiety drugs), this is sufficient "probable cause the person may be mentally unstable".

BTW, in New York, all prescriptions for ANY drugs that require them, are copied to the state government and put in a database. So the government DOES know you have a prescription.

food for thought here...


Requires designated mental health professionals who believe a mental health patient made a credible threat of harming others to report the threat to a mental health director, who would then have to report serious threats to the state Department of Criminal Justice Services. A patient's gun could be taken from him or her.

Allows law enforcement officials to pre-emptively seize a person's firearms without a warrant if they have probable cause (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probable_cause) the person may be mentally unstable or intends to use the weapons to commit a crime.

Since signing the NY SAFE Act into law, New York governor Andrew Cuomo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cuomo)'s approval rating has dropped from 74% in December, 2012 to 55% as of March 19, 2013.[20] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NY_SAFE_Act#cite_note-20)


As of March 22, 2013 51 of New York's 58 counties (when counting New York City's five boroughs as a single entity) have passed official resolutions in direct opposition of the NY SAFE Act; some of these counties have directed their law enforcement officials to not enforce the SAFE Act within their jurisdictions.

[logroller]

Provisions Related to Persons with Mental Illness


Amendments to the Mental Hygiene Law will help ensure that persons who
are mentally ill and dangerous cannot retain or obtain a firearm.
First, mental health records that are currently sent to NIDCS for a
federal background check will also be housed in a New York State
database. A new Section 9.46 of the Mental Hygiene Law will require
mental health professionals, in the exercise of reasonable
professional judgment, to report if an individual they are treating is
likely to engage in conduct that will cause serious harm to him- or
herself or others. A good faith decision about whether to report will
not be a basis for any criminal or civil liability. When a Section
9.46 report is made, the Division of Criminal Justice Services will
determine whether the person possesses a firearms license and, if so,
will notify the appropriate local licensing official, who must suspend
the license. The person's firearms will then be removed.

No hearing, no trial, no way to defend one's rights. It seems to be a pretty blatant due process violation. I would expect there to be more forthcoming in this case.

[Missileman]

First question; search issue?
Second question; would that information have kept him from getting his permit in the first place?

I can hardly wait to see what background checks are going to be failed for if they pass new legislation. I wager they'll try to make the process as difficult as acquiring nuclear certification.

[Little-Acorn]

No hearing, no trial, no way to defend one's rights. It seems to be a pretty blatant due process violation. I would expect there to be more forthcoming in this case.

And as we all know, the 2nd amendment requires due process.

"A well regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed except by due process of law."

[logroller]

And as we all know, the 2nd amendment requires due process.

"A well regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed except by due process of law."
Seriously? Your argument is moot if you don't accept that constitutional rights (like free speech, bearing arms and due process) are coexistent.

[red states rule]

I can hardly wait to see what background checks are going to be failed for if they pass new legislation. I wager they'll try to make the process as difficult as acquiring nuclear certification.

Hell the Feds to do enforce the laws on the books now Uncle Joe admitted the administration "does not have time" to prosecute those who lie on background checks now

It is time conu=suming to travel all over the country and be in non-stop campaign mode to actually take time and do your job




Biden to NRA: We ‘don’t have the time’ to prosecute gun buyers who lie on background checks

During the National Rifle Association’s meeting (http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/10/nra-says-meeting-with-biden-was-disappointing/) with Vice President Joe Biden and the White House gun violence task force, the vice president said the Obama administration does not have the time to fully enforce existing gun laws.


Jim Baker, the NRA representative present at the meeting, recalled the vice president’s words during an interview with The Daily Caller: “And to your point, Mr. Baker, regarding the lack of prosecutions on lying on Form 4473s, we simply don’t have the time or manpower to prosecute everybody who lies on a form, that checks a wrong box, that answers a question inaccurately.”


Submitting false information on an ATF Form 4473 (http://www.atf.gov/forms/download/atf-f-4473-1.pdf) — required for the necessary background check to obtain a firearm — is a felony punishable (http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-4.pdf) by up to ten years in prison, depending on prior convictions and a judge’s discretion, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/18/biden-to-nra-we-dont-have-the-time-to-prosecute-people-who-lie-on-background-checks/#ixzz2Q0b8Hum8

[aboutime]

Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Reid, and Holder DO NOT ENFORCE the constitution, and any laws now.
Why are they pretending to enforce new laws when they refuse to enforce other laws...just like them?

Excuse me. I forgot. When Liars are in Charge. What else could any of us expect?

[Marcus Aurelius]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/11/flaws-revealed-in-ny-safe-act-after-state-resident-has-gun-license-wrongly/?test=latestnews

New York resident has gun license wrongly revoked, concerns raised about law


Buffalo-area resident David Lewis has since gotten his license reinstated in what was apparently a case of mistaken identity under the state's new SAFE Act. The case drew outrage on gun-rights blogs warning that the state was exploiting the law to seize weapons.

Lewis' lawyer, indicating this may be an indication of a broader issue, also claims to be representing a second client in a similar circumstance.

Lewis initially received a notice on April 1 from the Erie County clerk saying that his license was being immediately suspended. He was ordered to surrender it along with his seven registered handguns.

"Based on the information received from the New York State Police, your pistol license [redacted] has been suspended by direction of the Licensing Officer for Erie County," reads the letter sent to Lewis and obtained by Fox News. "Failure to comply with this court directive upon receipt of this letter will be sufficient grounds for the revocation of your pistol license."

Lewis, who does not have a criminal record, caught the eye of state officials because it was believed that because of a prescription for psychotropic drugs that he was a danger to others, his attorney claims.