How about drug testing gun buyers?

[RoeBear]

Form 4473 asks:
"Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana, or any depressant, stimulant or narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?"

Since it's easy to lie about drug use(unless you received a felony connected to drug usage) why has this never been proposed?

[el_gato]

1. i prefer freedom thank you

more people die from cars every year than guns
why not cry about that for a while?

[slackmaster]

2. Unreasonable search

Refer to the 4th Amendment. Government cannot compel a citizen to be searched unless he or she is suspected of a crime.

[Lefty48197]

7. C'mon you know we abandoned the search and seizure laws

when Nancy Reagan came to town. If we can drug test High School students before we allow them to join the debate team, then we can sure test guy buyers before we let some whacked out crack addict buy a handgun or an AK47.

[slackmaster]

12. No "we" didn't

Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

[Liberal Classic]

3. Justice too long delayed is justice denied

I'm opposed to mandatory drug testing pretty much across the board, and I don't see that this would be an improvement. It would continue the idea that the results of a drug test are an accurate determinant to morality and responsibility, which they really aren't.

If we're going to perform background checks, then it is best that the criteria to be met can be proven. A criminal conviction can be proven as well as court mandated institutionalizaion in a psyciatric facility. Both are the sort of thing which have controls and checks and documentation trails. Asking about drug use is just the sort of question that is self incrimination, in my opinion. Any criteria should be those things proven through the courts.

[ex_jew]

4. How about making them spend a few days in an ER

looking at the results of gun violence ? Then we could ask the medical personnel to evaluate their mental state before giving them a permit.

[Superfly]

5. Nice hyperbole

Hey, I've got a position for you on a Faux "News" program....interested? It's called "Exxageration Hour"

[Nikia]

6. No

The drug that stays in your system,testing wise, the longest, marijuana, actually tends to lower violence in users. Other drugs leave a person's system within a few days. Drug using buyers would probably abstain before making a purchase or cheat just as is done with employment drug testing. It would be easier to plan abstention for gun buying than employment. You can buy a gun whenever you choose.

[0rganism]

11. Perhaps marijuana use should be a requirement for gun ownership?

Hehe, don't mind me, just passing through.

[1a2b3c]

8. How do you prove addiction?

How do you prove that past convictions for minor possesion means that the person is still using drugs? If you ask me the question should be thrown out.

[jody]

9. The question is a perfect example of the "grab ass" approach to

gun-control. By answering "yes" to the question, one is testifying that they have committed a crime.

Did SCOTUS rule that convicted criminals without their civil rights restored could not be prosecuted if they answered "no" to all the questions on a Form 4473?

[Pert_UK]

10. More useful to gun-test drug buyers........

:-)

P.