This post from Bitter got me to thinking about a related issue concerning firearms.  I’m pondering the ramifications of giving access to a firearm during a training session to a person who has been prescribed antidepressants.  Texas law is certainly not clear (at least to me) on this issue, but more importantly, I want to be as careful as possible.  In fact, Texas law only addresses this issue in relation to the CHL statutes in a section on whether “a person is incapable of exercising sound judgment with respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun” (Section 411.172, Subsection d of the Texas Government Code).  Further, it never addresses the issue of depression or treatment for depression.  Instead, it includes this catch-all phrase (Section 411.172(d)(1)):

has been diagnosed by a licensed physician as suffering from a psychiatric disorder or condition that causes or is likely to cause substantial impairment in judgment, mood, perception, impulse control, or intellectual ability;

This one will definitely require more thought.  On one side, you don’t want to give access to a gun to someone who could be suicidal.  At the same time, you also don’t want to deny knowledge of gun handling to someone who is actually interested (either for safety or self-protection reasons).

Update:  Another thought occurred to me after I wrote this.  I wonder if any gun owners have avoided getting help for depression for fear of losing their CHLs (or even their guns).