Veteran, former cop sues Cuomo, state officials for taking his guns after he sought treatment for insomnia

In a testament to the injustice wrought when anti-gun legislators restrict Americans’ Second Amendment rights, one military veteran said he had his weapons confiscated after seeking treatment for a sleep disorder.

U.S. Navy veteran and retired cop Donald Montgomery had four handguns and a pistol permit taken away after trying to get help for insomnia, according to the Daily Caller.

Now, the decorated 30-year police veteran is suing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Eastern Long Island Hospital and several state officials.

The brouhaha began May 6, when Montgomery visited his primary care doctor after he had trouble sleeping since moving from other state, the Daily Caller reported. He went to the hospital a few days later with the same symptoms, but this time, he was diagnosed with depression and insomnia and was prescribed medication.

He was admitted to the hospital a couple of weeks later for 48 hours of treatment.

Five days after he was discharged, sheriff’s deputies showed up at Montgomery’s door and seized his registered handguns, according to the Caller, which said the New York State Police exerted “repeated pressure” on the agency after claiming Montgomery had been declared mentally deficient and had been involuntarily committed to a mental institution.

Montgomery said the allegations were a farce.

In his lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York earlier this month, Montgomery said his hospital visit was wrongly recorded as an involuntary stay.

“Patient has no thoughts of hurting himself,” the nurses’ notes said, according to the Caller. “Patient has no thoughts of hurting others. Patient is not having suicidal thoughts. Patient is not having homicidal thoughts.”

New York’s SAFE Act requires health professionals to report patients deemed to be threats to themselves or others.

Last year, Cuomo essentially called “extreme conservatives” – namely, gun owners and opponents of abortion and gay marriage – enemies of the state, saying they “have no place in the state of New York.”

In addition to monetary damages and legal fees, Montgomery is asking the court to vacate New York’s so-called “Mental Hygiene Law,” saying it represents an “unconstitutional violation of the Second, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.”

Read the full lawsuit below:

Montgomery v. Cuomo

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