Dr. Nagle is an Inpatient Psychiatrist, Prisma Health - University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC. Dr. Joshi is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, and Associate Program Director, Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship, Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC. Dr. Frierson is the Alexander G. Donald Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Vice Chair for Education, and Program Director, Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship, Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC. Dr. Durkin is a Biostatistician, Prisma Health - University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC. Dr. Karydi is Director, Project 2025, The American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, New York, NY.
J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2021 Mar;49(1):28-37. doi: 10.29158/JAAPL.200050-20. Epub 2020 Nov 24.
Individuals with mental illness have often been misperceived by the public to pose a higher risk of violence to others. Consequently, the United States government and many individual states have enacted laws barring firearm access for certain individuals with mental illness. Many of these laws allow for eventual restoration of firearm access (i.e., relief from firearm disability (RFD)). This study assesses the knowledge base and attitudes of psychiatrists practicing in South Carolina regarding these gun laws. Results of this study indicate that psychiatrists in South Carolina have significant knowledge deficits pertaining to gun laws that both restrict gun ownership and allow restoration of gun ownership rights for persons with mental illness; these deficits may apply to practitioners in other states as well. The only variable that predicted a greater knowledge about limitations on gun rights was whether a psychiatrist had a patient who was prohibited from gun ownership. South Carolina psychiatrists had more favorable attitudes about restricting gun access for persons with mental illness than about supporting the right of persons with mental illness to own a gun. Finally, if psychiatrists owned a firearm, they were more likely to support the right of persons with mental illness to own a firearm.
精神疾病患者常常被公众误解为对他人构成更高的暴力风险。因此，美国政府和许多州都颁布了法律，禁止某些精神疾病患者获得枪支。许多这些法律允许最终恢复枪支使用权（即解除枪支残疾（RFD））。这项研究评估了南卡罗来纳州执业精神病医生对这些枪支法律的知识基础和态度。这项研究的结果表明，南卡罗来纳州的精神病医生在枪支法律方面存在严重的知识缺陷，这些法律既限制了枪支的拥有权，又允许恢复精神疾病患者的枪支拥有权；这些缺陷可能也适用于其他州的从业者。唯一能预测对枪支权利限制有更多了解的变量是精神病医生是否有被禁止拥有枪支的患者。南卡罗来纳州的精神病医生对限制精神疾病患者获得枪支的态度比对支持精神疾病患者拥有枪支的权利更为有利。最后，如果精神病医生拥有枪支，他们更有可能支持精神疾病患者拥有枪支的权利。
