The big-time disqualification from buying a firearm is being adjudicated mentally ill. That means that a judge finds the person to be a danger to himself or others due to mental illness. That is pretty rare.
Under Texas law, you cannot get a CHL if you have been diagnosed as mentally ill or incompetent, or pleaded not guilty to a criminal charge by reason of insanity.
The law (GC §411.173) contains a list of mental diagnoses that are presumed to be disqualifications. Here's the relevant text:
These are all serious disorders.(1) involuntary psychiatric hospitalization in the preceding five-year period;
(2) psychiatric hospitalization in the preceding two-year period;
(3) inpatient or residential substance abuse treatment in the preceding five-year period;
(4) diagnosis in the preceding five-year period by a licensed physician that the person is dependent on alcohol, a controlled substance, or a similar substance; or
(5) diagnosis at any time by a licensed physician that the person suffers or has suffered from ...:
(A) schizophrenia or delusional disorder;
(B) bipolar disorder;
(C) chronic dementia, whether caused by illness, brain defect, or brain injury;
(D) dissociative identity disorder;
(E) intermittent explosive disorder; or
(F) antisocial personality disorder.
- Jim