Sacramento

[dalgunowner]

CCW mental illness question in Sac County

Good Afternoon fellow Californians,
I'm interested in obtaining my CCW in Sac County for the protection of myself and family. My entire application would be squeaky clean except for the question of Mental Illness. I have taken Prozac for about 12 years now for anxiety. It's embarrassing but it was mainly due to the fear of needing a restroom when one isn't available, which had caused me to not enjoy life's adventures to the fullest. The medication has help tremendously and it's not like it was court ordered or I was admitted to a mental institution for the issue. I more define it as a mental disorder instead of mental illness which honestly is in the same categories as male erectile disorder and stuttering.

So my question is how do I go about answering the question, unfortunately our system has placed anxiety into the same categories as the ones described above and others such as Schizophrenia, manic disorder and bi-polar disorder. I will not lie on the application however I don't want to answer the question and be placed into a government system which one day can categorize me as a threat to society.

On another note I work for a state department which has a very reputable relationship with law enforcement.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Dvrjon]

Good Afternoon fellow Californians,
I'm interested in obtaining my CCW in Sac County for the protection of myself and family. My entire application would be squeaky clean except for the question of Mental Illness. I have taken Prozac for about 12 years now for anxiety. It's embarrassing but it was mainly due to the fear of needing a restroom when one isn't available, which had caused me to not enjoy life's adventures to the fullest. The medication has help tremendously and it's not like it was court ordered or I was admitted to a mental institution for the issue. I more define it as a mental disorder instead of mental illness which honestly is in the same categories as male erectile disorder and stuttering.

So my question is how do I go about answering the question, unfortunately our system has placed anxiety into the same categories as the ones described above and others such as Schizophrenia, manic disorder and bi-polar disorder. I will not lie on the application however I don't want to answer the question and be placed into a government system which one day can categorize me as a threat to society.

Prozac is a prescription drug. No matter how you characterize the reasons for taking it, your doctor's reasons for prescribing it are more persuasive and important and will probably be required. Otherwise, the decision to issue would be based on your self-certification as to why you are on drugs, and, well....you're on drugs.

On another note I work for a state department which has a very reputable relationship with law enforcement.

One might hope that all state departments have very reputable relationships with law enforcement. However, you are applying for the CCW, not your employment office. The fact that you are gainfully employed and stable is a positive.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Good luck.

[j15w]

Just got my permit Wednesday.
Here was my timeline for anyone looking for that sort of thing.

Scheduled Initial appt: 12/17/15
Initial appointment: 1/28/16
SSD Approval: 2/18/16
Livescan Start: 2/22/16
Required Training Classes: 4/2/16 & 4/9/16
Livescan Approval: 4/21/16 (59 days)
Scheduled issue date: 5/9/16
SCSO cancelled appt: 5/6/16
Rescheduled Issue appt: 5/20/16
Issued: 7/20/16

Hey Ben, glad to see this! I know you were bummed about the cancellations. Now get out there and start self defending! Grats!

[j15w]

Good Afternoon fellow Californians,
I'm interested in obtaining my CCW in Sac County for the protection of myself and family. My entire application would be squeaky clean except for the question of Mental Illness. I have taken Prozac for about 12 years now for anxiety. It's embarrassing but it was mainly due to the fear of needing a restroom when one isn't available, which had caused me to not enjoy life's adventures to the fullest. The medication has help tremendously and it's not like it was court ordered or I was admitted to a mental institution for the issue. I more define it as a mental disorder instead of mental illness which honestly is in the same categories as male erectile disorder and stuttering.

So my question is how do I go about answering the question, unfortunately our system has placed anxiety into the same categories as the ones described above and others such as Schizophrenia, manic disorder and bi-polar disorder. I will not lie on the application however I don't want to answer the question and be placed into a government system which one day can categorize me as a threat to society.

On another note I work for a state department which has a very reputable relationship with law enforcement.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Prozac is a very common medication. You should trying contacting the Sheriff's ccw unit and asking for more information. Anxiety, IMO, should not be a reason for disqualification.

[JeffC]

Waiting on livescan since early May. Emailed ccw today was told there is a 4 month backlog from DOJ and FBI.

Does this seem strange?

[916wfhunter]

Scanned in mid April and still waiting. At least you got a response..


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[KZAP]

Livescan at the end of May here and waiting...

[916wfhunter]

Initial 3/10
Approval 4/19


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Updating the above..
Livescan 4/22
Clearance 8/9

Went to schedule issuance and earliest available is early October. Now to hover over the website for cancellations..


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[j_angeles]

So anyone have any idea when we'll be able to modify our permits?

[Dvrjon]

So anyone have any idea when we'll be able to modify our permits?

Every 2 years on renewal.

The results of the Nov Congressional election will have an impact. If Scott Jones wins, we get a new appointed sheriff with a bunch of pressure to get appointed and then elected. If Jones loses the election, we will see continued pressure on him, and he probably won't run again for Sheriff.

[webcobra00]

So guys, what should my "just cause" reason should be for Sacramento County?

I found something on internet like...

Thank you for considering my application for a Concealed Weapons Permit. The following reasons are
why I am requesting a CCW:
Personal protection/self defense of myself and my family.
Thank you,
XXXXXXXXXXXX

[FireCloud9]

Prozac is a very common medication. You should trying contacting the Sheriff's ccw unit and asking for more information. Anxiety, IMO, should not be a reason for disqualification.

^^^ very common indeed.

Prozac is a prescription drug. No matter how you characterize the reasons for taking it, your doctor's reasons for prescribing it are more persuasive and important and will probably be required. Otherwise, the decision to issue would be based on your self-certification as to why you are on drugs, and, well....you're on drugs.

^^^True. However....

The OP could wean off the med altogether and discontinue it - then apply.

For most anxiety patients, they are treated for 6mo - 2yrs and thereafter don't need further treatment. The condition, like depression, can also come and go. A patient can have the condition in their 20s and then not again until their 50s.

On average, anxiety most commonly shows up in the 30s and after, when there are greater demands on the individual.

From a healthcare / patient's rights perspective, he can refuse treatment.

Additionally, HIPPA protects all medical information and when it comes to mental health information it has an additional layer of protection in addition to HIPPA.

For example, at Kaiser, a primary care physician can see Prozac on his file, but has absolutely no detail as to the reason for the prescription - that med is used to treat 20+ conditions from bulimia to fibromyalgia to BDD, PTSD, hypochondria, anorexia, OCD, etc.

Based only on what he has written here, he does not have a DSM V condition that would justify involuntary hospitalization and be involuntarily medicated.

Unless he is a court-ordered outpatient that is required to be involuntarily medicated (extremely rare), he cannot be forced to take any medication and can refuse treatment.

So which would you prefer, someone on Prozac that may potentially be rejected on CCW or someone that needs Prozac, but refuses treatment in order to be eligible for the CCW?

And it's interesting that after one has the CCW they can be treated. Go figure.

There are numerous anxiety disorders and the gap between the lay perception and reality are night and day.

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Anxiety Attacks (Panic Disorder), PTSD, specific Phobias and OCD are the main categories.

The psychiatrist diagnosis relies entirely on the patient's self-report on a PHQ-9 or GAD-7 (questionnaires filled out by patient - one has 9 questions and the other has 7 - usually the patient only takes one of these).

So yes, it is essentially self-certification. And he can self-decertify by picking up the phone contacting his psychiatrist and advising him/her that he feels he no longer needs the medication and wants to wean off. In 4-6 weeks he'd be off all meds.

Plenty of people in the population exhibit symptoms that would make them patients (I see this all the time - particularly on CG), but they themselves do not recognize the symptoms and go about their lives without seeking treatment. It does not mean they are "normal" (not that there is any such thing anyway) or well.

Likewise, there are others that exhibit very few symptoms (in this case it seems to be a very specific case), but are sufficiently self-aware to recognize that something isn't quite right and seek treatment.

Many Americans self-medicate (alcohol, weed) without ever recognizing the condition or realizing they are self-medicating.

Personally, I'd feel 10X safer with a CCW holder on Prozac than a "normal" CCW holder that has never submitted themselves for a psychological or psychiatric evaluation.

That being said, since our society places such a social stigma on mental health disorders that the CCW unit would place anxiety disorders alongside Schizophrenia, Manic and Bi-Polar disorders....

I'm guessing some government worker interpreted Axis I conditions as being "equal" because all these conditions are found in Axis I - well, so is alcoholism, cannabis abuse and a most other conditions which has nothing at all to do with one condition being more or less serious than another Axis I condition.

The multiaxial system is not a ranking of mental disorders.

The DSM has five axes:

Axis I records the patient’s primary diagnosis.
Axis II records long-standing personality problems or mental retardation.
Axis III records any medical conditions that might affect the patient psychologically.
Axis IV records any significant psychosocial or environmental problems experienced by the patient.
Axis V records an assessment of the patient’s level of functioning.

If you ever spent a week working with psychiatric patients, you'd notice the difference between these conditions very quickly.

Source: I've personally dealt w/ patients at Sutter Center for Psychiatry

[Dvrjon]

^TL;DR.

The guy needs to know how to answer the question. If he says he's on a drug, it is not unreasonable to expect the IA to ask why. While they may take his answer, it would seem more prudent to request information from his physician who prescribed the drug.

At this point he's got enough information to answer "yes" or "no".

[Dvrjon]

So guys, what should my "just cause" reason should be for Sacramento County?

I found something on internet like...

Self-defense and defense of family seems to work just fine.

[Drivedabizness]

Hey Guys

We were told some time back that things would "go back to normal" after July. I've already attended my renewal training/qualification and my CCW expires on 9/8. No appointments available. I reached out to the gun unit and I get "keep checking the calendar for cancellations.

I work during the day - it's pretty tough for me to keep logging onto the Sheriffs web site. The first available appt is 5 weeks after I expire.

Any tips on how to navigate what used to be a very slick system but now aint?