Emotionally or mentally disturbed people, who want to use a gun for something other than self defense or hunting.
The whole “mental illness” argument opens up an entirely new can of worms. First of all, the Constitution applies to everyone; not just those of sound mind. Do we deny First Amendment rights to people with mental illness? No. Do we deny Peaceful Assembly rights to people with mental illness? No. Do we deny the right to vote to people with mental illness? No. The right to defend oneself is no different.
Second, the term “mental illness” paints with a very wide brush. OK, maybe we don’t want firearms in the hands of hardcore psychopathic sociopaths. But what about people at the opposite end of the Mental Illness spectrum; those with an easily-treatable mild depression? Are they to be denied the right to firearms as well?
And what kind of a scale to we use? How crazy is crazy enough to be denied firearms? What criteria is used to decide? And who makes these decisions?
The truth be told, more people walking around armed would mean
less gun crime; not more. Ever notice that no one goes into a bar where off-duty police officers hang out and try to rob the place? No, because the would-be robber would know he’d never get away with it. It’s best to stick to a “safer” place like a gun-free zone.
In 1981, the city of Morton Grove, IL passed an ordinance* against the possession of handguns ostensibly to make the city “safer.” But violent crime numbers went up. In 1982, in response to the Morton Grove ordinance, the city of Kennesaw, GA passed an ordinance requiring the head of every household to own and maintain a gun. That cities crime rate went down.
Guns make the world safer. Period.
Oh, and one last thought: Of all the rights secured to the people in the US Constitution, why is the right to keep and bear arms the only one you need the government’s permission to exercise?
*In 2008, Morton Grove repealed the handgun ban in light of the DC vs, Heller decision.