Wayne LaPierre, hypocrite?

[snopes]

Comment: I've seen a meme on Facebook that states that Wayne LaPierre of
the NRA was drafted to serve in Vietnam but got a medical deferment
due to a nervous condition with the help of his physician. This is then contrasted
with his assertion that people with mental illness shouldn't be allowed to
own firearms and, by that logic, he shouldn't be allowed to own guns
himself. Of course, I'd love it to be true but I don't want to spread a
falsehood. Could you research this and see if there's any truth to it?

[firefighter_raven]

http://www.awolbush.com/whoserved.html

Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association - did not serve (apparently pulled lottery #97 in 1969 as a campus radical at SUNY-Albany, but weaseled out by getting a family doctor to claim he had a nervous disorder).

Found this but it doesn't have a link to a source.

[Not_Done_Living]

is a nervous disorder a mental illness though?
could be that he wets himself when he hears a loud noise -- which would be difficult to manage in a war situation

[snopes]

In any case, the fact that someone may have had a disqualifying psychological condition 40+ years ago doesn't mean he still has it today.

[ganzfeld]

But he would probably still be in the national database he wants.

[snopes]

Originally Posted by ganzfeld

But he would probably still be in the national database he wants.

Probably not, since the standard established by the Gun Control Act of 1968 is that gun sales are prohibited to someone who "has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution."

[Mateus]

Did Wayne LaPierre even go to U of Albany-SUNY (not SUNY Albany, fwiw)? All his online bios state that he graduated from Sienna and Boston College.

[crescent]

Originally Posted by snopes

... gun sales are prohibited to someone who "has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution."

Wayne LaPierre adjudicates himself as mentally defective pretty well every time he opens his mouth.

[snopes]

Originally Posted by crescent

Wayne LaPierre adjudicates himself as mentally defective pretty well every time he opens his mouth.

Yeah, that's not really a compelling legal or medical argument.

[crescent]

Originally Posted by snopes

Yeah, that's not really a compelling legal or medical argument.

I know, I know....

I can always dream, can't I?

[diddy]

It would be a cruel irony of sorts yes, but just because he talks like a loon doesn't mean that he is a clinical loon. I, of course, am of the opinion that Mr. LaPierre isn't all that concerned keeping guns out of the hands of mentally ill patients anyhow. I would bet that if he had some sort of problem that he would make sure it wouldn't impact him and his buddies. Heck, he wouldn't want to loose potential customer for his gun maker buddied.

[Mateus]

Wikipedia puts his birthday at 8 November 1948, which made him eligible in the 1969 lottery (birth years 1944-50). That birthday in that year was indeed #97, which was eventually called up.

But Siena College still ain't UAlbany.

[Mr. Billion]

Some years back, LaPierre starred in an NRA-produced video where he decried a nonexistent UN plan to take away America's guns (based, possibly, on the UN Small Arms Treaty). I watched the video more than once because it was so fascinatingly crazy. I think it was posted on these boards. Does anybody have any clues where to find that video?

Wayne LaPierre received a draft deferment, but I suspect it was not due to mental illness. He was born in 1948. When he was an undergrad at Siena in NY in the late '60s, there was a student deferment option for those who were enrolled full time in college. Although I haven't seen the actual documents, it appears it would be easier and more logical if LaPierre applied for a student deferment rather than jump through the hoops required for a medical (mental illness) deferment. The student deferment option was eliminated in 1971.