Wow. I’m a gun control person to the point of believing none of us need guns lying around. But guns are big business, legal or otherwise and the issue is very convoluted.

$10 billion of taxpayer $$$s? No way. Especially since it will go to NRA and not actual research and treatment of separation anxiety disorder in gun owners, erstwhile or not.

You started a chain of thought in me…

Unless the study of the etiology and evolution of gun-dependence becomes a foundational basis for treatment, it cant be effective. Sort of a Guns 101 for both patients and therapists. I refer to the magnitude, real or imagined, of our 2nd Amendment rights. Just as I find religious laws ridiculous and outdated, so too with right to bear arms. It’s not the Wild West any more, though sometimes I have my doubts. Nor are we circling our wagons to survive onslaughts (which is another story. )

I do believe that separation anxiety for gun owners is an issue. Capitalism has isolated and alienated us from each other. There’s nothing noble or brave about being nuclear. It’s just scary. Hence we need our security blankets. Today I have a better understanding of gun dependancy. Rich people want guns as amusement. The rest want guns as extensions of themselves and for emotional solace. So yes, gun owners need treatment.

Thank you for raising an issue that hitherto I’d not considered.

Incidentally, I think guns are beautiful. I grew up around them. And I’m a crack shot!