GRAND RAPIDS, MI A Hillsdale man says the government has violated his Second Amendment rights by prohibiting him from obtaining a firearm because of a three-decades-old involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital. <\/p>\n
Clifford Tyler, who says his mental-health issue was only temporary, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids against local, state and federal agencies alleging that they are violating his constitutional right to keep and bear arms. <\/p>\n
As a consequence of this overbroad ban, sane, trustworthy, competent individuals that are not a threat to themselves or others and are not in any way mentally ill are forever prohibited from exercising their Second Amendment rights by the bare fact of a one-time involuntary commitment without consideration of individual present circumstances, Grand Rapids attorney Lucas McCarthy wrote in the complaint. <\/p>\n
Tyler, 70, was involuntarily hospitalized on Jan. 2, 1986, over concerns he might commit suicide in response to an emotionally devastating divorce, McCarthy wrote. <\/p>\n
Recent psychiatric evaluations showed that Tyler, who has no criminal record, isnt a risk to himself or others, and has no substance-abuse issues. The examination, including statements of his physician, showed no evidence of mental illness, records showed. <\/p>\n
The evaluation noted that records of the 1986 hospitalization at now-closed Ypsilanti State Hospital no longer exist, and that there were few mental-health services available at the time in the rural area other than hospitalization. <\/p>\n
Tyler filed the lawsuit after he tried to buy a firearm and obtain a concealed-pistol license. He enjoys shooting pistols competitively, and has always had firearms, reports said. <\/p>\n
The Hillsdale County Sheriffs Department said he was prohibited from obtaining a firearm, the lawsuit said. <\/p>\n
The Sheriffs Department provided Tyler a pamphlet, Guide for Appealing a Firearm Transfer Denial, which said the National Instant Criminal Background Check System showed this criteria prevented his obtaining a gun: Persons adjudicated as a mental defective or involuntarily committed to a mental institution or incompetent to handle their own affairs, court records showed. <\/p>\n
Tyler then provided additional information about his situation to the FBI, which responded by confirming he was federally prohibited from owning a firearm, the lawsuit said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
See the article here: GRAND RAPIDS, MI A Hillsdale man says the government has violated his Second Amendment rights by prohibiting him from obtaining a firearm because of a three-decades-old involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital. Clifford Tyler, who says his mental-health issue was only temporary, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids against local, state and federal agencies alleging that they are violating his constitutional right to keep and bear arms Continue reading
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