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Old February 12, 2014, 11:20 PM   #1
KyJim
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Join Date: July 26, 2005
Location: The Bluegrass
Posts: 9,137
Do some restrictions on purchasing firearms violate ADA?

The American Bar Association Journal (online) has a story where the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is going after the Louisiana Supreme Court for its treatment of those with mental illnesses in their application to practice law, saying it violates the American with Disabilities Act:
Quote:
In a lengthy Feb. 5 letter (PDF) to the Louisiana Supreme Court, its committee on bar admissions and the state attorney disciplinary board that is likely to reverberate throughout the country, the division says some, but not all, of the questions asked in a standard National Conference of Bar Examiners questionnaire are unduly broad and violate the ADA. The DOJ also found that the state violates the ADA in evaluating bar applications from individuals with a history of mental health issues and admitting them to practice conditionally.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/artic...uch_about_the/

Here's is the Summary of Findings, extracted from the DOJ letter:
Quote:
We conclude that the Court’s processes for evaluating applicants to the Louisiana bar, and its practice of admitting certain persons with mental health disabilities under a conditional licensing system, discriminate against individuals on the basis of disability, in violation of the ADA. In particular, we find that Louisiana’s attorney licensure system discriminates against bar applicants with disabilities by: (1) making discriminatory inquiries regarding bar applicants’ mental health diagnoses and treatment; (2) subjecting bar applicants to burdensome supplemental investigations triggered by their mental health status or treatment as revealed during the character and fitness screening process; (3) making discriminatory admissions recommendations based on stereotypes of persons with disabilities; (4) imposing additional financial burdens on people with disabilities; (5) failing to provide adequate confidentiality protections during the
admissions process; and (6) implementing burdensome, intrusive, and unnecessary conditions on admission that are improperly based on individuals’ mental health diagnoses or treatment.
http://www.bazelon.org/LinkClick.asp...M%3d&tabid=698 (footnotes omitted).

I skimmed through the letter (45 pages single spaced) and it appears the DOJ is saying any different treatment based on mental illness must be conduct based and not based on the fact a bar applicant has a mental illness (even schizophrenia). Even asking for too much detailed information and requiring doctors' statements goes too far according to the DOJ.

I realize the the federal restriction on selling to those adjudicated mentally incompetent would not be affected, but what about the treatment we have heard about where veterans are discriminated against based upon PTSD? What about states which restrict sales to those with mental illnesses which are not "conduct based?" Frankly, I don't know what restrictions the various states have but I would have to believe there are a few out there that restrict sales to persons with a mental illness who have not actually demonstrated violence by their conduct. Anybody know for sure? Does anybody think the ADA might be used against these restrictions?
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