The gun control movement has tried very hard to paint mental illness, ANY mental illness, regardless of type or severity, as an immutable black mark that identifies subhuman psychos. Mental illness is not something people are -- it's something people have, and can be treated for. Unfortunately, there are too many people who are chomping at the bit to punish anybody who recognizes a problem and seeks help for it. Stunts like the introduced draft of Maryland's HB 730 create the perception (and REALITY!) that the government is not fair or neutral about the mentally ill, and will actively hunt down and discriminate against you, create expensive new roadblocks and humiliating disclosures, if you try to get professional help dealing with what is a medical condition. HB 730 treated anorexia, phobias, stuttering, and erectile dysfunction exactly the same as paranoid schizophrenia. The bill failed as written, but the message is lasting -- society and the government are your enemy and the best way to avoid them is to never get diagnosed, let alone treated. They can't punish you if they don't know you're sick.
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