" why not start with stringent gun restrictions on those suffering from mental health issues" What makes the author think that such restrictions don't exist? My wife is an investigator with the sheriff's department and her day to day job is to interview people picked up for threatening others or suicide . If they are judged to be an ongoing threat they are then prohibited from owning or buying guns . Data base checks show if they have guns registered to them and if so she goes and gets them . They have been doing this for 30 years .
The Huffington Post reported today that mental health solutions alone can't thwart gun violence.
[B]y shifting the debate away from gun control and toward mental health concerns, proponents run the risk of further stigmatizing mental illness, discouraging those who confront it from seeking professional help. "Most gun violence is just not committed by people with mental illness, were we somehow to stop violence by anyone with a mental illness -- as unlikely as that outcome might be -- we would be safer, but only a teeny bit safer. As much as these incidents attract everybody's attention and concern, they are...
Judges often order defendants (awaiting trial) to surrender their weapons.
Judges can stipulate the surrender of weapons when applying a restraining order.
A person can be added to the State "do not sell this nut a gun" database by pretty much any Court.
It is easier to get on the "do not sell" list than than they "do not pack your car trunk with propane tanks" list.