June 19, 2008

Update on Legislation and Call to Action on Gun Legislation

As we head to the last few days of legislative session, we continue to work on several bills including the addition of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder into Timothy’s Law. We will also continue to advocate for passage of the Housing Wait List Bill and a bill that we have long advocated for that has moved through the Assembly, a bill that would provide a tax check off for a public awareness campaign to promote mental health in New York.

There are also bills that we strongly oppose. There is proposed legislation that would not allow several categories of individuals with mental illness from owning and possessing a hand gun. One of those categories is individuals who have been involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals. The way the bill is currently constructed is that even if you never had a history of violence and you were an involuntary inpatient for a very limited time, you would not be able to possess a fire arm in New York State.

Call to Action:

Please call your State Senator and let them know you are opposed to S. 8478 Please call today and let them know it is discriminatory to not allow individuals with mental illness from owning hand guns if they have never had a history of violence

Attached below is the MHANYS Memo of Opposition:

Memorandum of Opposition

S.8478 By Senator Skelos

An Act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the transmission of data relating to the acquisition and possession of a firearm and ballistic identification

The Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS) is opposed to S.8478.

We completely agree that anyone who has had a history of violence should not own a firearm. However, this bill would discriminate against certain individuals with mental illness who have never had a history of violence from owning a firearm.

Under this legislation, certain individuals defined as a danger to themselves or others who have been involuntarily hospitalized would not be able to own a firearm even if they have never had a history of violence.

For example, under this proposed legislation, if someone lost a loved one twenty years ago and then went into a major depression and was involuntarily hospitalized for a short time and then recovered and lived productively in the community for the last twenty years, that person would be unable to own or possess a firearm in New York.

Also, this legislation is not clear on an appeals process. We are unsure, in the proposed legislation, what recourse someone would have to appeal their ban on possessing a firearm. Would an appeals process also insure that a person’s name would be permanently expunged from a federal roster if they successfully appealed the firearms ban?

For these reason, MHANY is opposed to S. 8478.

The Mental Health Association in New York State is comprised of 30 affiliates across New York State representing 52 counties. The organization mission is to provide accessible community based mental health services to all New Yorkers. For more information, contact Glenn Liebman at gliebman@mhanys.org or at (518) 434—0439, ext. 220