Concealed carry permits in Florida

Question
In Florida, one of the possible reasons why a person may be ineligible to obtain a concealed carry permit is "Being committed to a mental institution or adjudged incompetent or mentally defective." I'm trying to translate this statement into plain English, and would appreciate your help, although I understand that you may not be familiar with laws specific to Florida.

This is what I'd like to know. If a person has been diagnosed with a mental disorder where one of the symptoms is having thoughts of harming oneself or others, is this person automatically ineligible for a concealed carry permit? What if this person has the disorder but does not show this symptom? And if the disorder is treated, how long would the person have to exhibit no symptoms before they would be considered for a concealed carry permit? Thanks for answering.

Answer
Nicole,

This is one of those answers where I need to offer a disclaimer first.  I am not an attorney, nor am I licensed to practice law in Florida.  What I am about to tell you is not a substitute for  legal advice.  For truly authoritative answers you should contact an attorney in Florida.

I can find nothing in Florida law that provides for disqualification for a CCW permit due to 'mental incompetence' unless there has been a competency hearing where the court finds the subject of the hearing to be 'mentally incompetent'.

There is no link (to my knowledge) of any medical records to the criminal databases that would be searched as part of a background check.

I would recommend that if a person has been diagnosed with a mental disorder and is having symptoms of 'thoughts of harming oneself or others', putting them in close proximity with any means to act on those thoughts is probably not a wise idea.  Unfortunately, sometimes people act on impulse and if the means to act on that impulse is readily available, the person might act.  If the means to act on the impulse is not available, then the impulse might pass with no ill effect.

You'll need to use your own judgment on this one, but I'd suggest avoiding firearms in this kind of condition.  In terms of legal prohibition, there is none that I can find.

Hope this helps and good luck,

Doug