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Health & Fitness

CT Gun Laws – Latest Victims? – Our Returning Combat Veterans

In an awful new twist on the latest gun control measures written into law in the State of Connecticut, our returning combat veterans are now avoiding reaching out for treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) out of fear they will lose thei

CT Gun Laws – Latest Victims? – Our Returning Combat Veterans

In an awful new twist on the latest gun control measures written into law in the State of Connecticut, our returning combat veterans are now avoiding reaching out for treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) out of fear they will lose their rights to own firearms, and will be unable to attain State and Federal employment. 

Background: You volunteer to serve your country, get sent to war, get sent again, and again. You watch your friends die or get blown to pieces. You come home to the safety of the nation you were sent abroad to defend only to find out that you have not returned they way you left.

Things are different now. You know you should probably talk to someone or get help, but you don’t want to be seen as a “pussy” so you suck-it-up. This last for a few years until you find yourself isolated, alone, drunk, unemployed or perhaps naked on the side of the road after a crazy night bender. Eventually you either kill yourself or swallow whatever is left of your pride and call that VA 800 number.

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Your Psychologist tells you that you are suffering symptoms of PTSD and that you should have the VA evaluate your symptoms and put you on medication.  But you hesitate because you have been trying to get that job in law enforcement because it is what you feel you are best trained in.

After all, you spent two, six-month tours in Iraq and one, eight month tour in Afghanistan as a U.S. “Global Policeman”. Your firearm is pretty much an extension of your body at this point. It is your best friend, your protector and it does not argue or fight with you.

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But wait, not so fast. If you returned home to CT you are hearing rumors that a diagnosis of PTSD may lead to confiscation of your firearms, ineligibility to obtain a permit to carry, and may also deem you unemployable as a result of “mental illness”.

Every public official and law enforcement officer you speak to says this is not true. However, the letter of the law leaves room for broad interpretation that may possibly open up that door down the road for such actions and discrimination based upon your combat connected diagnosis. (Politicians refer to this phenomenon as a “slippery slope”)

Specifically, Sections 10 & 11 of CT Public Act 13-3 - AN ACT CONCERNING GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND CHILDREN'S SAFETY In these two sections, multiple agencies are tasked and entrusted with sharing mental health records and firearms permit application records as well as records of gun registrations. 

So – will the CT Legislature work as quickly and feverishly as they did to pass this law as they will to assure our combat veterans that their guns are safe and their employment options are open despite the myriad of combat connected injuries they suffer?  Or will they continue to allow the vagueness of this law to push more veterans toward committing suicides due to fear of diagnosis and getting treatment?

Well, What are you waiting for CT? This is an election year – Get to work.

Contact your elected representatives and demand the law be made clearer and provide our combat veterans with assurances that will give them the confidence they need to seek the help and treatment they deserve.

Locate and contact your legislative representative here: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

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