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Debate Info

37
45
Yes No
Debate Score:82
Arguments:70
Total Votes:83
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Argument Ratio

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 Yes (29)
 
 No (30)

Debate Creator

HoldTheMayo(5913) pic



Should all mentally ill people be prevented from owning guns?

Yes

Side Score: 37
VS.

No

Side Score: 45
3 points

If the person is disconnected from reality (hallucinations, paranoia etc) or has shown violent tendencies he should not be allowed to purchase guns and everyone who lives with that person should be warned to remove guns from the household.

Side: Yes
Swryght(161) Disputed
1 point

You are not supporting the side of the argument you posted this under, which supports the view that "All mentally ill people should be prevented..." Your argument begins with a conditional statement (disconnecting from reality or violent tendencies) which indicates that you think only some (not all) mentally ill persons should be prohibited from firearm ownership. Thus, you are actually supporting the "No" side of this argument.

Side: No
AngryGenX(463) Clarified
1 point

Eh, maybe. I would rather err on the side of caution. The government should reserve the power to deny the sale of firearms for mental illness. Should they use it every time someone is a little depressed? No.

Side: Yes
SexyBanana(306) Disputed
1 point

so you want christian's guns taken.................................

Side: No
AngryGenX(463) Disputed
1 point

No, but I would really like to see you try it.............................................................................................

Side: Yes
HumannamuH(209) Clarified
1 point

Only if their mental illness is as serious as what you say it is....

Side: Yes

I think everyone should be prevented from owning guns! Not just the mentally ill, and not just the civilians, but police and militaries too.

We should adopt the lightsaber as a replacement; I hear it's an elegant weapon, from a more civilized time. Sounds like just what we need!

Side: Yes
Cartman(18192) Disputed
1 point

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.

Side: No

I bow to your superior wisdom on this subject and concede my point.

Side: No
1 point

Every time I check my conversation above I see the beginning of yours and get red in the face, start cracking my fingers to give you the most brutal dispute ever, and then you talk about lightsabers.

Side: Yes
thousandin1(1931) Clarified
2 points

I was hoping it was funny and silly enough for people to get the joke and not knee-jerk at me :P

I'm in favor of some gun control, but I think the way we do it now is both too much and completely ineffective anyway.

Side: Yes
2 points

Person who cannot think clearly is not fit to chose who dies .

Side: Yes
Jace(5222) Disputed
1 point

So... we should deny guns to the religious?

There is no reason to even presume that those living with a mental illness will be choosing who dies to begin with; there is no research supporting the link between mental illness and increased risk of violence relative to control populations.

Side: No
Nox0(1393) Disputed
1 point

there is no research supporting the link between mental illness and increased risk of violence relative to control populations. Joke right?

Side: Yes

All ordinary members of the public should be prevented from owning guns, let lone the mentally ill. In a civilized country ordinary people do not carry guns.

Side: Yes

Yes. I say this as a mentally ill person. I know what can happen with mental illness.

Side: Yes
Swryght(161) Disputed
3 points

Here's an analogy: Person A is diabetic, and therefore avoids high-sugar foods which may kill him. Person B has the flu. Person A decides that Person B should not be allowed to eat sugary foods either, because he knows the risks posed by his own illness, and, he reasons, they are both ill after all. Therefore, neither of them should be allowed to eat sugary foods. Does this seem like sound reasoning to you?

Thank you for sharing your personal perspective on this as a person with mental illness. However, can you really claim to speak for all who struggle with psychopathology? Do you know what it is like to be someone with each of the 300+ mental disorders recognized by psychiatric medicine? If not, then on what basis can you justify restricting someone's rights just because you both have an illness?

Side: No
Nox0(1393) Disputed
1 point

Eating sugar hurts only the ill one. Mentally illness and ar15 with plenty of ammo rarely ends by only one death...

Side: Yes
Jace(5222) Disputed
2 points

And I know what can happen with the mentally "stable"; they act violently towards other people all the time.

Side: No

Yes since well give power to a lunatic? What is this world war 2 again?

Side: Yes
Jace(5222) Disputed
3 points

There is zero evidence indicating that those with mental illness are statistically more likely then those without it to act violently towards others. Zero. (source)

Side: No
1 point

That said, statistics can always be manipulated...what good has come of the recent obsession with body surgery and botox? Zero

Side: No

It would be playing with fire to allow mentally ill people to own guns.

Side: Yes
3 points

'Mental illness' encompasses a broad spectrum, from challenges with adjustment to life circumstances all the way up to schizophrenia and personality disorders. Not all people with various forms of mental illness would necessarily pose a risk as firearms owner--For example, someone with a phobia of dogs or obsessive compulsive personality disorder. Furthermore, many people who are not diagnosable as mentally ill would likely pose a greater risk--For example, a member of a hate group. It seems unreasonable to restrict firearms across the board based on mental illness history.

Side: No
Nox0(1393) Disputed
1 point

Mentally ill means that your brain is fucked up ergo you cannot think properly ergo you your decision to kill person for wearing yellow sweater may not be seen by others as a valid reason.

Side: Yes
Swryght(161) Disputed
1 point

Mental illness does not always equate to increased tendency towards violence. Generalizing this kind of assumption to a gigantic group of people with very diverse illnesses is, frankly, laughable. Consider the person with agoraphobia (fear of leaving the home). Nothing about the symptoms of this illness suggest an increased likelihood of harming someone with a firearm:

A) anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing) or in which help may not be available in the event of having an unexpected or situationally predisposed Panic Attack or panic-like symptoms. Agoraphobic fears typically involve characteristic clusters of situations that include being outside the home alone; being in a crowd, or standing in a line; being on a bridge; and traveling in a bus, train, or automobile.

B) The situations are avoided (e.g., travel is restricted) or else are endured with marked distress or with anxiety about having a Panic Attack or panic-like symptoms, or require the presence of a companion.

C) The anxiety or phobic avoidance is not better accounted for by another mental disorder, such as Social Phobia (e.g., avoidance limited to social situations because of fear of embarrassment), Specific Phobia (e.g., avoidance limited to a single situation like elevators), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (e.g., avoidance of dirt in someone with an obsession about contamination), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (e.g., avoidance of stimuli associated with a severe stressor), or Separation Anxiety Disorder (e.g., avoidance of leaving home or relatives) (Source: http://www.medicalcriteria.com/criteria/ agoraphobia.htm). .) It makes no sense to ban ALL people with mental illness from owning firearms. They are not all the same!

Side: No
1 point

It's dangerous for non - mentally ill people to own guns (polite as poss) it depends on exactly how far they are along the 'mental illness' spectrum.

Side: No
2 points

Depends on the type of mental illness they have. But ALL no.

Side: No
Jace(5222) Disputed
2 points

Not one single mental illness is causally linked to an increased risk for violence towards others. Not one.

Side: Yes
Paradox44(736) Disputed
1 point

I don't know about that. Antisocial personality disorder seems to increase the likely hood of aggressive behavior in comparison to catatonic schizophrenia.

Side: No
2 points

Those living with mental illness are not statistically more likely to be violent:

"Mental disorders are neither necessary nor sufficient causes of violence. Major determinants of violence continue to be socio-demographic and economic factors. Substance abuse is a major determinant of violence and this is true whether it occurs in the context of a concurrent mental illness or not. [...] Members of the public exaggerate both the strength of the association between mental illness and violence and their own personal risk. [...] Too little is known about the social contextual determinants of violence, but research supports the view the mentally ill are more often victims than perpetrators of violence." (source)

Side: No

I am full of brain is wrong momy says special. and i am full okay.

I have am gun and is okay.

I shoot with gun and am okay.

I shoot brother but we bury him under the pink starflowers and am okay.

I want me gun.

Side: No
Swryght(161) Clarified
2 points

Mocking the mentally ill does no credit to your character nor to whatever point you are trying to make.

Side: Yes
1 point

Shut up! Mocking the mentally ill just shows that it beyond you - not below you - arrogance is hardly ever good news.

Side: No
1 point

Unless they are crazy.............................................................

Side: No