In response to the article “Barriers for cops seeking mental health treatment remain despite FOID card law[1]”: Police officers have a very difficult job; they see things and are involved in heinous incidents most of us only read about. Often, if the stress becomes too great, it leads to emotional and psychological problems serious enough to require hospitalization. The same is true of civilians. Both can suffer from depression caused by employment, health, marital or financial problems.
If we as a society have determined that a person with serious psychological issues should not have possession of a firearm, then we cannot make a distinction or a different decision simply based on their employment. A police officer with mental health problems is no different than a civilian with a legal right to own and possess firearms with the same mental issues. As an NRA member, I believe in the Second Amendment, our right to keep and bear arms and to be a responsible gun owner, but I also believe that anyone with mental health issues serious enough to require hospitalization should not have possession of a firearm until such a time that they are cleared by a panel of qualified, independent doctors, regardless of whether they are a sworn law enforcement officer or not. Out of fear of permanently losing their right to keep and bear arms, many gun owners with mental issues or psychological problems do not seek the help they desperately need.
We cannot simply assume that a police officer who is suffering from PTSD or depression or who is bipolar will act differently than a civilian with the same illness. Changing the law to allow police officers with mental illness to keep their firearms while undergoing mental health hospitalization or intense treatment is
