First I want to thank the OP for being so forth coming. I believe that was incredibly brave.
I want to address a couple of things I saw in this thread though.
1) On the whole diabetic issue. I am a diabetic and have been for about 7 years now. My wife is also diabetic. She was diagnosed about 5 years before me, but has probably been diabetic since her teens (we are in our 40's). Due to the length of time she went undiagnosed and how much longer she has been diabetic, her's is much harder for her to control. She has a lot wider blood sugar ranges then I do, and that causes larger drops in her BS. But we have both experienced the symptoms associated with low blood sugar, or a fast drop in blood sugar (the symptoms, actual feeling is the same) First, you wouldn't want to draw a gun when that is happening because your hands shake like you wouldn't believe. Secondly, if the BS drops too far, or too fast, you can get irrationally angry. You have no reason why you are angry, you know inside your own head, that it's irrational, that there is no logical reason for that anger, but boy, that doesn't make a difference. Does that mean I might 'shoot someone'. No, although yelling and screaming have happened. I have often had my wife yelling at me, and told her to eat something, then we can discuss it. (Nope, that's not a husband get out of jail card... you pay for those just like any other time you are right, yet arguing with your wife <wink>). Usually five minutes after eating something, or even sooner, that rage is gone. The first time this happens to you, it scares the sh*** out of you. I kid you not. Over time, you learn to recognize that its coming on and how to handle it. So I can say as an expert that has the problem, the OP's comparison is very valid, and as a diabetic, I don't find it offensive at all. Does any of that mean that I (like the OP) shouldn't have the right to own a gun, absolutely not. It just means I need to be a little extra careful in being responsible. A prime example. My wife and I were at the Gun range last Friday night after work (way after lunch and before dinner). By the time we had been there about an hour, I could start to feel those inner jitters and start to see my hand shaking as I targeted that deadly paper we like to kill so much. Despite me enjoying myself, that signaled it was time to put the guns away and go get something to eat. You learn to watch for those signs, and luckily in the case of me and my wife, we learn to watch for them in each other.
2) On the whole Mental Health issue in general. As another poster said, we already have mechanisms in place to properly deny rights as needed. I don't feel we need any additional laws governing that. (Now, we might need a tech tweak in having that information entered into the database that they search when they do a background check. That part I don't know about, as I don't know if it's entered or not. What we do need, and it's the direction the Mental Health talk needs to take (at least in my opinion), is one of access and availability. We need a cultural revolution (the good kind) that takes the stigma away from seeking mental services in the first place. Be it simple depression or something far more complicated. We need resources in place for people to be able to seek and get help, in whatever form that takes (I am not a psychologist or a doctor). We need to make it to where that when a parent has a kid that has issues, they have someplace they can turn to for help. Maybe that help is as simple as some parenting classes... Maybe the issue isn't the kid at all. Maybe it's some counseling for the kid, or as a possible last (and I stress the last part) option, maybe it is drugs or some long term care for that kid. Maybe their brain is so far miss wired, that we don't have the knowledge to make it better... We need humane ways of dealing with that. Not a return to the 70's Mental Prisons, and not the current method of letting them fall through the cracks until they run into trouble with the law, or worse (i.e. some school shooting). That's going to cost money. I know a lot of people on this board (and your totally entitled to your opinion) will take the Individual standing on their own two feet approach that lots do concerning things like universal health care. But the bottom line (again, in my opinion), is that we are a society, and somethings, are worth the society funding together, public education, libraries, roads, police, fire fighters, etc. I think that we really have to include the availability of mental health in that. It has to be acceptable culturally for people to seek health, accessible and available, and affordable for them to do so. A certain percentage of our population are going to need it one way or another, and we as a society are going to pay for it one way or another. We can pay for it the current way... i.e. a larger criminal justice system to support those that have run afoul of the law, increased missed time from work, the cost of all the ER visits, and things like mass shootings. Or, we can put systems in place to help people get the help they need to be productive members of society. Will some people take advantage of that system, of course they will. People have taken advantage of every system the government has ever had from road work to jails, but that doesn't mean we don't have them, because in the end, the cost to all of us as a whole is lower then if we didn't have them. Will it keep all shootings like Sandyhook from happening? Of course not. But it might just make them (and a whole lot of other problems) happen a lot less. So for me, I don't want the Mental Health issue to focus on ways to deny adults their rights. I want it to focus on how to give people access to the mental health services they may need, and the younger they can get that help the better. A lot of mental health issues compound over time, so the earlier they are caught the better.
That said, I don't look for us to do this, because it's too complicated a solution. We (I mean all us Americans) have an aversion to coming up with long term complicated solutions that solve the true problems instead of the symptoms of the problems. Crime, Gun Violence, and the number of gun murders in this country, are really a symptom of another problem. As many have said, if we take away all the guns completely. And I mean, if there was a magic Feinstien fairy land, were we could wave a wand, or flip a switch and all the guns were magically gone from this country, we would still have the real problem and the people that perpetuate that violence would simply find another way to perpetuate it. I certainly do not know all the answers, to fix it, and I think it's truly bigger even then just mental health. (Economy, Education, work ethic, etc) But as far as the mental health aspect goes, I think you have to make people feel comfortable seeking the help they may need (as in culturally remove the stigma associated with seeking help) and secondly make the services available so that once they seek the help, it's there for them to take advantage of. As it stands right now, We stigmatize anyone that admits to being anything less then perfectly fit (physical or mental health included) and we have a system where prices for help are out of control, and that's if there is even any help available. It's just my opinion, but that's where we need to start. That's the conversation everyone should be having.
Thanks again to the OP for being so forthcoming.