New York Safe Act Testimony Patricia Weathers

Re: Resolution No. 2013082 Opposing the Process of Enactment and Certain Provisions Contained Within the New York Safe Act

To All Members of the Public Safety Commission,

I am Patricia Weathers, a Dutchess County Resident and Cofounder of Ablechild, a national non-profit organization with over 25,000 members.  Our mission is full informed consent and the right to refuse psychiatric drugs and services.  Ablechild is funded by parents, and does not take special interest money.

Our organization has been active since its onset in 2001 on various issues on a State and Federal level.  Our primary purpose is to educate the public on the importance of informed consent rights within mental health and education.  Simply put, parents and caregivers need to be given all the information before they can make educated and safe choices.  This helps protect our children.  Many of our parent members have had children that have been seriously harmed or who have died from psychiatric drug “treatment” prescribed them.  Over 85% of our parents have had children or grandchildren with adverse side effects that include mania, psychotic episodes, violence, hallucinations and heart conditions to name only a few effects of psychiatric drug use.  In fact, the evidence shows that 9 out of 10 school shooters have been linked with psychiatric drug use or withdrawal.  Our organization and its parent members have testified before Congress, the FDA and State Legislators numerous times on these many issues.

Ablechild has been actively requesting that Adam Lanza’s medical records be released to the public because this is what is needed to establish the facts to ensure public safety.  No legislation should have been enacted until all the evidence was unsealed.  The fact that Lanza’s medical records are still sealed from the public should be alarming to all those trying to establish new legislation without all the facts on the matter.  What has started recently is a public outcry demanding this.  Currently over 300 Newtown residents have signed onto a petition requesting that Lanza’s records be public record.  An online petition has gathered thousands of signatures nationwide in just a few days of being put online.

Mental health legislation and gun legislation (specifically the NY SAFE ACT) that was enacted into law rashly without public hearings on the matter and without all the facts is reprehensible and criminalizes the many law abiding, responsible citizens across New York State without just cause.

Though our organization does not wish to make a stand on guns, we do want to emphatically state that we believe that the issue of gun control is diverting this country away from the very real underlying cause of these violent shootings occurring in our nation’s schools.  We are asking this committee to think long and hard on this matter and demand with us and the growing public the facts before it supports anymore hastily, impulsive, and dangerous legislation.    Thank You.