One of the biggest misconceptions that’s projected upon the gun owning community is that we don’t care. Pictures that red-shirted commie mommies paint, or how so-called “non-policy” healthcare “researchers” describe gun owners are all patently false. The image is that all “we” care about is clinging to our guns and this narrative is and has been false for years. Take for instance New York gun owner Sandra Richardson and her quest to not only show how harmful some laws are, but also come up with salient solutions in the process. Richardson recently launched a survey and I implore everyone to take a look at it.

Readers may remember Richardson from my series on the New York SAFE Act, NY SAFE Act Chronicles, with the 4th piece being the most recent. Richardson got hung up by New York’s draconian and illegal mental health hygiene laws. Those laws have caregivers inputting data into the NICS system when they should not be. The reporting standards are supposed to be concerning those involuntarily committed via a function of a court order; however, caregivers have been adding people for things like voluntarily seeking mental health care.

Richardson recently had a paper she wrote about the chilling effects of laws like the one she fell victim to published. “Codified Barriers to Mental Health Care, An Example from New York State” talks at great length about the pitfalls of laws states like New York and New Jersey have concerning seeking mental health help and the preservation of civil liberties. Since publication of the paper, she decided to gather some more data of her own via a survey.

The survey, “NY SAFE Act and Health Care Survey,” is anonymous. Richardson has tested this and said to me specifically, “It is set to anonymous which means it does not collect IP addresses.” Richardson ran a test survey to confirm this.

What questions does she ask in it? Here are the questions with some of her preliminary results:

1. Do you live in New York State? Yes 89%
2. Gender Male 86%
3. Age 18-64 years 98%
4. Do you own a gun? Yes 77% Prefer not to answer 20%
5. Prior to today, were you familiar with NY SAFE Act MHL 9.46? Yes 83%
6. Are you concerned about being reported to the government under NY SAFE Act MHL 9.46 if you decide to seek mental health care? Very concerned 83%
7. Does NY SAFE Act MHL 9.46 affect how likely you are to seek mental health care if you need it? Less likely to seek care 94%
8. Does NY SAFE Act MHL 9.46 change your willingness to report any issues to a mental health provider? Definitely would not report or Less likely to report 97%
9. Does potential NY SAFE Act MHL 9.46 reporting influence your trust in mental health providers? Do not trust or Less trust 92% 
10. Does loss of Second Amendment rights as result of seeking mental health care impact how likely you are to seek mental health care if you need it? Less likely to seek care 95%
11. Have you previously taken this survey? No 100%

This anonymous opinion survey is still open, so results may change.
The survey link was posted on Reddit and Facebook, and shared by people who viewed those posts. This is known as network or snowball sampling.
N=126 respondents on 02/28/24 at 10:30 am

Looking at these preliminary results, I’m not shocked. This is consistent with findings that we’ve discussed here at Bearing Arms before and within other articles in the SAFE Act series. People don’t trust that states or healthcare providers will do the right thing when it comes to their civil liberties and because of it there’s a chilling effect. People don’t seek care because of laws like New York’s.

It’s gun owner-led initiatives like this survey that the anti-gun progressives and the medical establishment say don’t exist. Gun owners are constantly trying to help one another and want safety just as much as the next person. The lynchpin to this that the medical industry and anti-civil liberty bureaucrats can’t embrace though is trying to achieve that safety without stripping people of their fundamental civil rights. Liberty-minded people refuse to surrender liberty for a perceived and false sense of security. 

If the medical establishment ever wants to regain the trust of gun owners, they’re going to have to stop pushing for adding more restrictions against our rights and focus on getting people the care they need or want. As for the lawmakers who have concocted such awful laws and policies, it yet remains to be seen if these consequences are a result of malice or stupidity.

I hope that you’ll take some time to complete Richardson’s survey. The data she receives will help paint a very important picture and the reporting that comes from it won’t be easily ignored. The “NY SAFE Act and Health Care Survey” can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JRW792P

For a complete rundown on my NY SAFE Act series, please check out the posts listed below:

NY SAFE Act Chronicles Part 1: Meet victim Sandy and the storm created
NY SAFE Act Chronicles Part 2: Meet Isaac, his lawsuit, and how NY puts service members' lives in danger
NY SAFE Act Chronicles Part 3: Barriers to care created by a misguided system
NY SAFE Act Chronicles Part 4: Bias and Reporting Uncovered in Email String