uk gun certificate

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Does autism affect getting a gun certificate?

I am not an "antigun" person, but I strongly hold the view that a gun license should only be issued to a person who has a clear need for a gun AND is "of sound mind and sober habit".

You will need to be able to prove that you have a valid reason for having a gun, and that you are neither a danger to yourself and others. Also you will need to show that you have the means to keep the gun in a secure place to prevent it being lost or stolen.

On the "sound mind and sober habit", I think that a person with AS can be of "sound mind and sober habit". Plenty of NTs are not of "sound mind and sober habit".

The sound mind / sober habit requirement would be failed by quite a range of people. I will run through some of them

Drunks
Wife beaters
People who have commited gun crimes in the past
People who have medical conditions which make them pass out or dooze off
Walty Mitty types who keep running their mouths off and doing odd things
People who have a anger problem

There are a lot more classes of people who fail the "sound mind / sober habit" requirement sadly I do not have the time to list them.

_________________
Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity I am not a jigsaw, I am a free man !

Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

In the United States at least, we don't need to prove our worthiness to enjoy our constitutional rights. Such rights are natural (God given) and pre-exist the Constitution for the United States of America itself. The constitution merely acts as a guarantee to protect such rights, not to "give" them. In other words, there is no requirement to prove a "need" to own and possess a firearm here. With the recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions about District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), and McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), which affirmed the Second Amendment to the Constitution and incorporated the amendment's provisions to the states and local governments, many states and local governments have been required to repeal overly expansive firearm laws.

Having stated that, we do also recognize certain violations of law that result in an individual losing certain constitutional rights (at least temporarily) including the rights to keep and bear arms. These violations include being convicted of any violent crime (misdemeanor or felony), any drug- or alcohol-related crime, any unlawful sale or transfer of a firearm, and any firearm possession in locations which have been designated secure areas. By federal and state laws, secure areas don't include federal parks, forests or fisheries, or private lands and facilities. Businesses and churches may choose to prohibit firearm possession (most don't), but, in states like Utah, must post signs or other communications about the prohibition.

Most importantly for this discussion, federal law requires an adjudication by a court of law that an individual is "mentally incompetent," "mentally deficient" or a "danger to the individual or others" to restrict or prohibit the individual's lawful ownership or possession of a firearm, though a few states still try to enforce more expansive laws. As I mentioned previously, the president's two most recent executive orders about involuntary commitment in a mental-health facility and sharing mental-health records (apart from privacy laws) are redundant with existing federal law, but might be interpreted by some courts as restricting or prohibiting the Second Amendment rights of an individual with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) or other autism-spectrum disorders (ASDs), though my own research (and that of many constitutional lawyers and academics) suggests that it has no such authority.

Therefore, your only "sound mind / sober habit" activity that would probably not already be restricted or prohibited is that about "Walty Mitty types who keep running their mouths off and doing odd things." Absent any other criminal activity, merely being argumentative and strange is constitutionally protected in the United States. Your other categories on spot on, otherwise, and already restricted or prohibited here.

It is pretty damn difficult to get a firearms certificate. You must have multiple referees, convince the police why you need one etc. Autism probably would, I don't think it's a disqualifying factor like criminal convictions but it depends how it affects you. There are very few reasons why anyone needs a gun, unless you are a farmer or experienced hunter.

Taken from the government website

You can get a firearm or shotgun certificate application form from the firearms licensing unit of your local police force.

You must:

complete an application form
provide 4 passport photographs
have 2 referees for a firearm certificate and 1 referee for shotgun certificate
pay the fee for the certificate you are applying for
You can get the fees from your local police force. The fee amounts can be found from the firearms licensing unit of the police force where you live.

You must also prove to the chief officer of police that you?re allowed to have a firearms certificate and pose no danger to public safety or to the peace.

A shotgun certificate won?t be given or renewed if the chief officer of police has a reason that you shouldn?t be allowed to have a shotgun under the Firearms Act. Or if they don?t think you have a good reason to have, buy or acquire a shotgun.

A certificate usually lasts 5 years from the date it was issued or renewed.

And this is from the metropolitan police website

Applicants for firearms have to show ?good reason? for possession of each and every firearm.

How are applications refused or revoked?
A firearm certificate may be refused or revoked if the applicant/holder is:

A danger to public safety
Of intemperate habits
Of unsound mind
Unfit to be entrusted with such a firearm
No longer has ?good reason? for possession

My overall approach is like that of Allan Quatermain from the fictional 'Leauge of Extraordinary Gentleman' movie, in that I am conservative, if unhappy. I respect the sanctity of life, and the concept of authority, if not the policies of the administration.

Expecting busybodies to cause more interefence than convenience, I have never formally reported any psycholgical complaints.

I'd say having Autism makes one more likely to need a gun since we're more likely to be victims of crime.