Norris Donna M, Price Marilyn, Gutheil Thomas, Reid William H
Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Beth Israel/Deaconess Hospital, Massachusetts Mental Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Am J Psychiatry. 2006 Aug;163(8):1392-6. doi: 10.1176/ajp.2006.163.8.1392.
Persons with mental illness and/or substance abuse are frequently perceived by the public to be dangerous. This has resulted in an increase in state legislation restricting their ability to purchase, possess, register, obtain licensure, retain, and/or carry a firearm of any sort. The purpose of this article is to educate clinicians about the impact of firearms statutes and restrictions for their patients. Many state statutes mandate that treating psychiatrists report such gun possession to state justice or police departments. Psychiatrists may also have a statutory role in an appeals process.
The firearms statutes of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and the Federal National Firearms Act were surveyed, with particular attention paid to the ability of persons with mental illness and/or alcohol or substance abuse to obtain firearms. The results were tabulated.
These statutes are not uniform. They vary in their definition of mental illness, the type and duration of gun restriction, reporting practices, the confidentiality of medical information, and the immunity of clinician reporters and appeals processes.
Clinicians would be wise to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the relevant statutes in their particular states. This will allow them to identify the consequences to their firearm-possessing patients, understand their own roles and obligations -- if any -- and better consider potential clinical and ethical issues for particular patients.
公众常常认为患有精神疾病和/或药物滥用的人具有危险性。这导致各州立法增多，限制他们购买、持有、登记、获得执照、保留和/或携带任何种类枪支的能力。本文旨在让临床医生了解枪支法规及其对患者的限制所产生的影响。许多州的法规要求治疗精神病医生向州司法或警察部门报告此类枪支持有情况。精神病医生在上诉程序中也可能具有法定职责。
对50个州、哥伦比亚特区、波多黎各的枪支法规以及联邦《国家枪支法》进行了调查，特别关注患有精神疾病和/或酒精或药物滥用的人获取枪支的能力。对结果进行了列表统计。
这些法规并不统一。它们在精神疾病的定义、枪支限制的类型和期限、报告做法、医疗信息的保密性以及临床医生报告者的豁免权和上诉程序等方面存在差异。
临床医生最好熟悉其所在特定州的相关法规条款。这将使他们能够确定对持有枪支的患者的影响，了解自己的角色和义务（如有），并更好地考虑特定患者潜在的临床和伦理问题。
