Citation

Simpson JR. J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law 2023; 51(1): 13-17.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Publisher American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law)

DOI

10.29158/JAAPL.220112-22

PMID

36854704

Abstract

In 2006, during my forensic psychiatry fellowship, I observed an evaluation for restoration of firearm rights. Until then, I had been unaware that these types of proceedings existed. Because the petitioner in the case was a police officer, whose duties (and potentially his job itself) hinged on the outcome of the petition, I realized that laws that prohibit firearm possession can have a profound impact on some individuals, beyond what I had naïvely thought about before, namely, interference with hobbies such as hunting or target shooting, and relatively abstract concerns (for most people) about self-defense. This realization sparked a lasting interest in the subject of mental health firearm laws.

At the time, there were very few publications on the topic in the mental health literature that I could use to educate myself. Coincidentally, 2006 was also when Norris et al. published one of the first papers to provide a comprehensive review of mental health firearm laws.1 The stated purpose of that article was to "educate clinicians about the impact of firearms statutes and restrictions for their patients" (Ref. 1, p 1392). The authors also pointed out that "[c]linicians would be wise to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the relevant statutes in their particular states" (Ref. 1, p 1392). This advice, I will argue, is even more important now than it was in 2006. Unfortunately, few have heard or heeded it, and today many or perhaps even most American psychiatrists still lack sufficient knowledge of this critical subject.

Over the past decade and a half, a body of academic literature on mental health firearm laws has developed. I reviewed California's statutory scheme2 and with Sharma reported the results of our empirical research on restoration of rights proceedings in Los Angeles County.3 Gold and Vanderpool explicated the complexities of restoration of rights procedures in a set of two articles.4,5 Two recent books each include several chapters discussing mental health firearm laws in detail.6,7 Also in the last decade, the American Psychiatric Association has published and updated a Position Statement on mental health firearms laws,8 as well as two resource documents, one on so-called "red flag laws,"9 and another on restoration of firearm rights...

Language: en

Keywords

mental health firearm prohibitions; psychiatric training; restoration of rights