Posted on Mar 10, 2016
Richfield gun seizure raises question of mental illness and 2nd Amendment rights
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Ralph Gilbertsen says the CIA has been stalking him for two decades. He believes in Bigfoot. He has seen a UFO.
And he wants his guns back.
Richfield police came to his door one day last year and took them away. Now Gilbertsen, a 74-year-old former security guard and Marine Reservist, is in court to force police to return the three handguns they seized.
His case raises the question of how to balance mental illness with the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
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Ralph Gilbertsen says the CIA has been stalking him for two decades. He believes in Bigfoot. He has seen a UFO.
And he wants his guns back.
Richfield police came to his door one day last year and took them away. Now Gilbertsen, a 74-year-old former security guard and Marine Reservist, is in court to force police to return the three handguns they seized.
His case raises the question of how to balance mental illness with the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Richfield gun seizure raises question of mental illness and 2nd Amendment rights
Posted from startribune.comPosted in these groups: 
Gun Control
Mental Health
Gun Control Mental Health
Posted 9 y ago
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"Minnesota law allows the seizure of firearms on mental health grounds only if an individual has been committed to a mental institution or has been ruled by a judge to be a public danger. That requires a legal finding that the person has tried to harm others or that there’s “a substantial likelihood” of harmful behavior."
He has not been ruled by a judge to be a public danger. The cops overreached.
He has not been ruled by a judge to be a public danger. The cops overreached.
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If the article is entirely accurate...this man is no more a danger to anyone than the next person. Believes in "Bigfoot"? Well, if you grew up in an era where people actually trusted what they heard in the news or saw portrayed as "fact"...how could you not? Has seen a UFO? So have I...won't say whether I believe it was "little green men" or DARPA...but I was, at one time, aircrew...and have some idea of what the "published" capabilities of tactical aircraft are/aren't, and this one wasn't "normal". Believes the CIA is stalking him? Well, I once confirmed that the FBI was tailing me (granted, I had an active application in at the time), and had Army Intelligence set up a covert "interview" with me while training to go to the 'Stan (again, I guess they wanted to know where I had been for two years between depolyments).
Personally, and no intended offense...I'm getting pretty sick and tired of the intentional or un-intentional effort to portray everyone struggling to cope with certain folks' "Brave New World" as mentally ill.
Personally, and no intended offense...I'm getting pretty sick and tired of the intentional or un-intentional effort to portray everyone struggling to cope with certain folks' "Brave New World" as mentally ill.
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SGT (Join to see)
LCDR (Join to see), The police were wrong for sure. Maybe because of the mass shootings, in the past, caused them to react illegally and too quickly. Hers what his psychiatrist said. I think this should pretty much sum I up and he should get his property back.
"Gilbertsen calls himself a proud patriot and a Christian whose biblical beliefs forbid him from lying or injuring anyone. He said he’s handled guns all his life and knows how to use them properly. His psychiatrist sent a letter to the judge saying that Gilbertsen is compliant with his medications and poses no danger to himself or others.
That leaves a case, according to Gilbertsen’s attorney, in which police took away a citizen’s guns simply because of his beliefs. They’re unusual beliefs, acknowledged his attorney, Paul Baertschi.
“He’s what some people would say is a conspiracy theorist. It is an unusual situation,” Baertschi said. “But really, the police acted unilaterally in deciding that a person who has these beliefs can’t be trusted with a gun. And so they just took them, without a warrant.”
In a court filing, Baertschi wrote that Gilbertsen “is an able-bodied senior citizen who lacks the physical strength to defend himself from an attack and has the constitutional right under the Second Amendment to have a weapon for personal protection. The police have no right to confiscate his weapons based on the speculative worries of anyone.”
"Gilbertsen calls himself a proud patriot and a Christian whose biblical beliefs forbid him from lying or injuring anyone. He said he’s handled guns all his life and knows how to use them properly. His psychiatrist sent a letter to the judge saying that Gilbertsen is compliant with his medications and poses no danger to himself or others.
That leaves a case, according to Gilbertsen’s attorney, in which police took away a citizen’s guns simply because of his beliefs. They’re unusual beliefs, acknowledged his attorney, Paul Baertschi.
“He’s what some people would say is a conspiracy theorist. It is an unusual situation,” Baertschi said. “But really, the police acted unilaterally in deciding that a person who has these beliefs can’t be trusted with a gun. And so they just took them, without a warrant.”
In a court filing, Baertschi wrote that Gilbertsen “is an able-bodied senior citizen who lacks the physical strength to defend himself from an attack and has the constitutional right under the Second Amendment to have a weapon for personal protection. The police have no right to confiscate his weapons based on the speculative worries of anyone.”
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