[Ike666]

Sorry for that. Dx=diagnosis; ED=erectile dysfunction

The real point is that simply carrying a diagnosis is not enough to trigger reporting to the NICS database. Only those persons who have been involuntarily committed due to a mental health issues are reportable. Actual hospitalization is not required, being committed to MOT - mandatory outpatient treatment - will also trigger the reporting requirement.

At Virginia Tech, Cho was committed to MOT but Virginia did not require reporting for outpatient treatment at the time. So, he was able to legally obtain his Walther and his Glock after having been committed. This was a disconnect because BATFE required reporting of ALL involuntary commitments, not just inpatient. Virginia has since changed the law and reports all MOT commitments as well now.

Chris Kyle's murder was indeed a tragedy of monumental proportions. It is not really clear at this point whether the ex-Marine (having crossed the line, he is no longer a former Marine) actually has the diagnosis or was just suffering the effects of his deployment. Even if he had been diagnosed, unless he had been involuntarily committed, he was not reportable to NICS.

I, for one, do not think we want to start down the path of reporting diagnosed mental illnesses. There are too many issued involved in making the diagnosis in the first place, not the least of which is the reliability (would two clinicians arrive at the same conclusion given the same patient and same set of symptoms). Unlike diagnosis for physical conditions, psychiatric Dx is far less precise.

As to the clown in Alabama, his problems go far beyond PTSD. Although I have limited information, I suspect he is suffering from one of the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Still not enough to report him unless he had been involuntarily committed.

And in that we see the inherent limitation with a more aggressive approach to mental health as a solution for public mass killings by mentally ill gunman.