[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21890032]And it's from Britain, no less:[/url][quote]When Governor Andrew Cuomo put his name to the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (Safe) Act, just a month after the mass shooting at Newtown, Connecticut, he told supporters that the bill's mental health provisions lay at the core of the legislation. The act includes, among its various controls on gun ownership, something called a "mental health alert", which requires mental health professionals to report patients who they believe pose a threat to themselves or others. "People who are mentally ill should not have access to guns," Gov Cuomo said. "That's common sense." Hard to argue with that. Mental illness has clearly been at the centre of some of the country's most notorious mass shootings. But could the new law have an unintended consequence: making it harder for the mentally ill to seek help? Andrew Cuomo Governor Cuomo signed the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act into law shortly after the Newtown shootings Anneliese, a native of Westchester county who agreed to speak to the BBC on condition of anonymity, has battled mental illness since she was a teenager. She never thought about doing harm to anyone, except herself. She's conquered her demons for now, but says the new law would have made it hard to seek help in the first place. "If I was in the condition I was in when I was first diagnosed, I might not have gone back to treatment," she says. The key to successful treatment, for Anneliese, was a relationship of trust with her therapist. Anything that threatened that relationship might have undermined the whole exercise. "If I had that fear that it would go to the police, I would feel violated," she says. "Like big brother is watching me." Mental health professionals and advocates fear that as a result of the new law, those who need treatment will stay away from the very people who ought to be able to help them. "It has set back stigma a trillion years," says Sharon McCarthy, programme director for the Westchester branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "In developing this law, you brought in the mentally ill people," says Ms McCarthy, whose daughter is bipolar. "You didn't bring in the gangs. You pinpointed that group." 42-year-old Michael Andersson from the Bronx believes society needs to be educated about how rarely mentally ill people commit violent acts against others. Mr Andersson, who now supports others with mental illness, has previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. In the early stages of his illness, he had thoughts of harming himself. "It feels horrible, really horrible when you hear people equating guns with the mentally ill," he says. "But people will start doing it because it's now in the language of this legislation." Gov Cuomo's office failed to return several BBC calls seeking guidance on the new regulations. Those who will find themselves legally obliged to follow the Safe Act's provisions say they're still in the dark. "We've received no guidance," says Professor Paul Applebaum, director of law, ethics and psychiatry at Columbia University. "We've been asking for it," he says. "Should no guidance arrive, we will have to come up with our own ad hoc rules." Like others in the field of mental health, Prof Applebaum fears that patients, who already do their utmost to maintain their anonymity, will recoil at the new regulations. "Lots of people, because of the stigma associated with mental illness, don't want anybody to know that they're in treatment," he says. "They don't use their insurance coverage. They pay out of pocket, so their employer and their insurer won't know. They may not even tell their spouse." The thought that their doctor might now report them to a local official, he says, could be disastrous. "It may be enough to scare them away forever." But the Safe Act has plenty of supporters. Westchester County's Board of Legislators passed a resolution urging similar action by federal leaders. The board's chairman, Ken Jenkins, says the act has adequate protections and that no-one should fear that the mental health provision will be used for anything other than preventing the sale of handguns and assault-style weapons to those who have been reported. He says it's only reasonable that gun ownership now comes with an extra burden. "For the privilege of having... specific types of guns, you now have the additional responsibility for opening up your privacy," he says. Leah Gunn Barrett, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, whose older brother was murdered in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1997, says it's too early to pass judgement on the Safe Act's mental health alert.[/quote]More at the link. TL;DR: requiring that "mental health alerts" be reported will result in people not seeking help/treatment because they fear for their privacy, among other things. How do you think this law will affect doctor-patient confidentiality? Do you think we should focus more on de-stigmatising mental health before we make laws like this? Thoughts in general?