After the Newtown, CT massacre and the killing of the former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the media, President Obama, Senator Feinstein of California and even David Keene, president of the National Rifle Association, have suggested that people with mental illnesses, which could include veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, be subject to stricter gun restrictions.  http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/should-gun-restrictions-be-placed-on-veterans-with-ptsd/ Although PTSD is a mental disorder, decisions on whether to restrict the gun rights of people who have received a diagnosis of PTSD should be individualized. The reason, he said, is that not all people with the disorder are violent.  “PTSD is different from one person to the next and involves many different types of symptoms, in our research, we found that veterans with PTSD and high irritability were twice as likely to report getting arrested compared to other veterans, whereas veterans with PTSD and low irritability were not at increased odds of getting arrested. So, to generalize that all veterans with PTSD are prone to criminal acts or violence is inaccurate.These are tragedies for which we are limited in our ability to accurately predict, in veteran or civilian populations. We do not have a crystal ball.” “It would be insulting and demeaning to take away someone with PTSD’s right to own a gun just because of a diagnosis is just wrong. There needs to be a more concrete reason.”

“It sounds very menacing. They immediately think that I’m going to kill someone, but I’m not. I’m just willing to defend myself and my loved ones. I am very stable and responsible enough to own a firearm.” a veteran says.

“If you make it automatic where troops with PTSD lose their right to bear arms, you’re going to have people who don’t seek help,”