Veteran and Former Cop Sues New York over gun confiscation...

T

ThesNazud

New member
Saw this on my Facebook feed this evening, sounds like an interesting case to keep an eye on...


http://dailycaller.com/2015/01/02/v...ted-because-he-sought-treatment-for-insomnia/

A veteran of the U.S. Navy and decorated retired police detective is suing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state officials for infringing on his constitutional rights after his pistol permit and four handguns were confiscated after he voluntarily sought hospital treatment for insomnia.



Some thoughts...

“Nurse’s notes” from Montgomery’s stay show no documentation of mental health issues.

“Patient has no thoughts of hurting himself. Patient has no thoughts of hurting others. Patient is not having suicidal thoughts. Patient is not having homicidal thoughts,” the notes read.

A psychological assessment labeled him “mildly depressed,” but otherwise determined “there is no evidence of any psychotic processes, mania, or OCD symptoms.”

“Insight, judgment, and impulse control are good,” the assessment reads.

Montgomery’s suit also states that a hospital psychiatrist told him “You don’t belong here” and “I don’t know why you were referred here."
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None of that is indicative to me of a person meeting criteria to have firearms removed. Being married to a nurse, and someone who is for several of the gun bans/laws(thank god she refuses to vote...), we both agreed that was a bit excessive...

One was issued to Montgomery by his police department; Montgomery won another at police academy for being the top recruit; he bought another in 1975; he purchased the last one two years ago.
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Personally this would tick me off, and I hope this guy gets those guns back in pristine condition as there is a definite sentimentality and irreplacibility there...

Montgomery’s suit alleges that his Second, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment protections were violated and that the hospital violated his privacy rights by sharing his medical information with state police. He demands that a judge strike down New York’s Mental Hygiene Law and that the state issue written notification to all individuals whose health information has been collected under the state law.
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This is what really sticks to me about the whole thing as I've been wondering just how one would combat the SAFE act...
 
As a retired police officer, can't he just requalify and carry (even in New York) under the LEOSA? After all, the LEOSA begins by saying "any other laws notwithstanding" (or something like that), which means the NY law can't stop him. And since you can't carry a gun unless you have a gun, I would hope that a judge (a federal judge, not a NY state judge) would rule that the state must give him back at least one handgun.
 
Tom Servo said:
The problem is, he needs to own a gun. That was the permit that was revoked.
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Agreed. I addressed that at the end of my post.

The LEOSA says something like "... any other laws notwithstanding," which means it (the LEOSA) overrides any state laws that are in conflict with it. It's not too much of a stretch to see how that could apply to NY state's permit to possess law as well as carry laws.
 
The larger issue here is that no one, police officer or not, should lose their gun rights because they seek treatment for insomnia. This should never have been reported to the state police, but once it was, they should not have acted on it.
 
Vanya said:
The larger issue here is that no one, police officer or not, should lose their gun rights because they seek treatment for insomnia. This should never have been reported to the state police, but once it was, they should not have acted on it.
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One of the latest buzzwords (or phrases), that we can expect to be hearing a lot more I fear, is "Out of an abundance of caution ..." When you hear that as the intro, you just know that what's about to follow is most likely an affront to the Constitution.
 
Seems like an "abundance of caution" and "zeal for the public good" are the kind of phrases one hears shortly before people get sent to "camps".

Historically speaking, of course...
 
I'd be suing the hospital for breech of confidentiality.
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I'd investigate that possibility, but I'd want to be certain of my legal ground before I actually brought suit.

the problem is that while there are medical confidentiality statutes, there are also "public safety" laws that require doctors, hospitals, etc., to report certain things. Which laws take precedence, and when matters a lot.

The hospital could have screwed up, and violated his rights. OR they may have done so in a completely good faith attempt to follow other laws. And if so, may not be liable. Rather complicated, particularly with the recent NY laws (SAFE act, etc).

Your (and my) medical privacy is NOT absolute. One (sadly) common example is a gunshot wound. Go to the Doc, Emergency room, etc, for treatment of a gunshot wound, and they ARE going to report that to the police. Count on it, its the law. Your privacy in this is irrelevant.

Tell the doc you did it, accidentally, fine, matters not, they still have to report it. The police will decide what matters, after that. If it is an accident, (and I was personally involved in one years ago) police will come to the hospital, and take a statement. Then do a check of the story (check out where it happened, other witnesses, etc.) If everything checks out to their satisfaction, they write their reports and go on their merry way. IF not, they investigate further.

What I see as the issue here is the actions that were taken based on "insomnia" and "mild depression". Common MINOR medical issues, resulted in a drastically over the top response.

If you are one of those who feel that anyone who has a gun, or wants one (including police and former police officers) is a ticking time bomb just waiting for the right trigger to set them off on a killing rampage, then you are probably happy with this situation.

If you are a rational, thinking individual, I don't see how you could be...
 
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