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Article

Abstract

People out of touch with reality should not have guns. This Article proposes empowering police officers to take away guns and gun rights from individuals suffering from delusions or hallucinations. This proposal is inspired by the Navy Yard shooting, but is also supported by evidence showing a correlation between these psychotic symptoms and violence. The proposal is constitutional because of this correlation and for other reasons. For example, the motivating principle behind the right to bear arms is selfdefense; a criminal defendant may only invoke self-defense if he “reasonably” feared great bodily harm, and such a fear is not “reasonable” if premised on a delusion or hallucination. Hence, individuals suffering from psychotic symptoms cannot be trusted to exercise their Second Amendment rights responsibly.

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