Mental Health Waiver: Another Second Amendment Win on Big Island

News Release from Attorney Alan Beck, Oct 22, 2024

Today, I along with my co-counsel Kevin O'Grady won another lawsuit. The County of Hawaii (Big Island) was prohibiting anyone who has ever received mental health counseling from owning a gun unless they received a medical clearance saying they are fit to own a gun. Problem is most doctors will not sign that form due to liability reasons. That includes all the major HMOs and the Veterans Affairs hospital. That means a person treated through one of those organizations has to go out of plan to get a medical clearance. The issue with that is there are no doctors at all that I am aware of on the Big Island that will sign the medical clearance for a person whom they are not actively treating.

That means many people in practice are permanently disarmed simply for receiving standard counseling. My client is a veteran who receives treatment at the VA. He has PTSD which manifests as occasional insomnia without any other major symptoms. He owns firearms from before this policy went into effect. He tried to purchase a new firearm and was flagged due to counseling he has received at the VA. He received a letter which said he had to get a medical clearance or turn in any guns he owns within 30 days or the police would come get them and he could be charged with a crime. He asked the VA for a medical clearance and his doctor there refused but made clear that the refusal had nothing to do with my client. The VA just never signs the medical clearance as a matter of policy. My client tried to look for another doctor on the Big Island and could not find any doctor willing to sign a medical clearance. At this point he only had a couple weeks before the police showed up to seize his guns. He got a hold of me and we filed a complaint and TRO.

Today, the County of Hawaii agreed to a court enforceable stipulation which says it will no longer require medical clearance for anyone unless their medical treatment indicates that they would be a danger to themselves or others. As a practical matter, this stipulation has restore the Second Amendment rights of many people living in the County of Hawaii who have received standard counseling for everyday issues such as marriage counseling, insomnia, the loss of a loved one. I am proud of the work we did in this lawsuit and for being able to restore many people's Second Amendment rights. Linked to below is a copy of the stipulation the Court signed today.

PDF: Thompson Signed Final Stipulation