Should Trump be prohibited from owning a gun?  (Trigger warning: a bit tongue in cheek…)

Background: Americans want some new gun control

Congress showed signs recently of acting on aspects of gun-law reform that Americans overwhelmingly favor. But gridlock proved too strong.

Around 90% favor background checks for gun sales. This issues is sometimes referred to as: Closing the “gun-show” loophole.

About 70% favor banning gun sales to people on the no-fly list, that is, people suspected of ties to terrorism. When this list was started, it was difficult to even discover if you were on it. Now there’s actually an appeals process, though the ACLU would like further changes.

And around 80% favor preventing people with mental illness from possessing guns. And this is where the irony begins.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

The Mayo Clinic site’s definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder fits Trump perfectly:

If you have narcissistic personality disorder, you may come across as conceited, boastful or pretentious. You often monopolize conversations. You may belittle or look down on people you perceive as inferior. You may feel a sense of entitlement — and when you don’t receive special treatment, you may become impatient or angry. You may insist on having “the best” of everything

Should NPD be a mental diagnosis that prevents owning a gun?

Just because someone has a diagnosis of a mental problem doesn’t mean they shouldn’t own a gun.

For instance, many people have some OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder. A common symptom is that they feel a frequent need for things to be cleaner. Repeated hand-washing is safe. On the other hand, if one in a million times a gun goes off while cleaning it, this could be a problem for some.

And some of us have ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder, making it difficult to concentrate. With these people, Tom Lehrer says, “when something moves, you shoot.”

What about NPD?

The question is, does Narcissistic Personality Disorder make a gun-owner irresponsible?

In public, Donald Trump suggested that only a gun owner could do something about stopping Hillary Clinton from making Supreme Court appointments. That’s called “Stochastic Terrorism.” As a national politician, he gave the public a rationale to assassinate an opposing politician. Some nuts may now consider this task their duty. This points to NPD indeed being a reason to disqualify someone from owning a gun.

If Trump shouldn’t be allowed to own a gun, perhaps he shouldn’t be president. It may be worth considering.

PS: As a non-partisan observer

In my work for PeopleCount.org, I’m non-partisan on issues, and on political philosophies and parties. At the same time, Trump is a phenomenon. Most of his spectacle has nothing to do with issues. Yet his campaign is hugely impacting American politics.

Lots of people like him and what he says. I imagine what he says is similar to what many of his followers say among themselves. Airing this side of our culture gives us a chance to deal with it openly. It gives mainstream society the opportunity to respond to it, interject some reason, and to apply social pressure for people to be polite and civil- maybe even rational.

As Michelle Obama said a bit differently, it gives us a great opportunity to be adults and rise to higher standards.

And, you’re welcome to even more power in transforming Congress and politics. Add your email address to our announcement list and you can soon be part of a real revolution to rejuvenate democracy.