Circuit Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of Gun Rights

By Beth Baumann

On Thursday, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a federal law that indefinitely banned people who had previously been committed for mental health treatment from owning a firearm. According to the ruling, the ban violated the Second Amendment.

The case was brought to the Sixth Circuit by Clifford Tyler, who spent one month in a mental institution following a divorce in 1986. Tyler was committed involuntary by his daughters, who feared for his safety. In the last 30 years he has not had any similar episodes or needed on-going mental health treatment.

When Tyler attempted to purchase a firearm in 2011, his sale was denied because he failed the FBI background check for being “mentally ill.”

In some states, a person who was deemed “mentally ill” can apply for a relief from disability, which would reinstate their gun-ownership rights. However, Tyler’s home state of Michigan does not have such a process.

Let that sink in.

Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, who wrote the court’s decision, cited District of Columbia v. Heller, a 2008 Supreme Court Case that ruled a citizen has a right to own firearms but it is lawful to ban gun ownership to criminals and those who are mentally ill.

“To …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms