Edmund J. Susman Jr., a federal agent with an important role in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Buffalo, is locked in a surprising legal battle. Despite being entrusted with not only a top-secret security clearance but also the responsibility of protecting diplomats and investigating terror threats, he finds himself unable to legally purchase a gun. This Erie County local, who has never faced arrest and already owns an array of firearms, was bewildered to discover that he has been barred from acquiring more firearms after failing a federal background check in November.
This strange predicament came about as a result of a report from the New York State Office of Mental Health to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). According to this report, Susman was not suitable to possess firearms. Such a predicament was rooted in a self-initiated hospital visit for a mental health evaluation a decade ago, when he was dealing with suicidal thoughts, as revealed in a recently filed lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, Buffalo.
In the challenging phase of his life years ago, Susman, acknowledging the need for professional help, checked himself into the hospital’s comprehensive psychiatric emergency program. His stay was brief, as within a few days, a psychiatrist declared him to be a non-threat to either himself or others, resulting in his discharge. What was unknown to him then, was that his name was funneled through the Office of Mental Health and ended up in the background check system.
The implications of this chain of events are now coming to the fore years later. Susman’s lawsuit classifies the state’s mental hygiene law as ‘unconstitutionally hazy and excessively expansive’, contending that it infringes upon his Second Amendment right for gun ownership and his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. The lawsuit further argues against the legality of automatically voiding a person’s Second Amendment right upon hospital admission for psychiatric evaluation and observation.
At 50, as a special agent for the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Susman is seeking legal intervention to prevent the state from enforcing its statute regarding background check reporting on individuals like himself. His petition is specific to those who got admitted for mental health appraisal but did not get committed involuntarily due to being a danger to others.
He clarified in a legal filing, ‘I have never been declared ‘mentally defective’ nor was I formally committed to a mental institution. Neither have I ever been recognized as a ‘dangerous’ individual.’ Unfortunately, the Office of Mental Health lacks a system to inform individuals when they are flagged on the prohibited list, as stated by Amy L. Bellantoni, Susman’s counsel from Westchester County.
Bellantoni further revealed that people remain unaware of the fact that they have been reported until a ‘denied’ response is received while attempting to buy firearms or ammunition. Detailed reasons for the curtailment of their Second Amendment rights are provided only once they formally appeal with the Attorney General’s Office.
She brought to light that while the Office of Mental Health is legally credited to convey records to the NICS of individuals who were involuntarily admitted for mental health reasons, it is not appropriate for anyone who has voluntarily sought evaluation and was discharged without being deemed dangerous. However, it remains unclear how many individuals ended up in the Office of Mental Health reporting database merely due to an emergency admission for mental health observation.
It’s been decided without doubt by New York, that any emergency admission signifies permanent disarmament,’ she stated. Eerily similar cases have emerged from various parts of the state. For instance, a resident from Niagara County filed a lawsuit against Ann Marie Sullivan, the state’s mental health commissioner, and four employees from the state’s NICS Appeals Office.
The complainant, a 58-year-old who served nearly three decades as an Army medic before his honorable discharge in 2016, was a lawful gun owner and avid hunter all his adult life without any criminal convictions. However, after a brief admission to Niagara County Medical Center for a mental health evaluation, he was reported to the NICS database as ‘a person prohibited from possessing firearms’. His case and others refer to elements of the state’s mental hygiene law that could potentially violate individuals’ Second Amendment rights.
The ripple effects of Susman’s case have now extended to his professional sphere. His tasks involve providing protection for senior U.S. and foreign diplomats both within the country and overseas, including in high-risk areas. He is also responsible for investigating terrorist activities, threats, and incidents targeting U.S. citizens, government personnel, and diplomatic facilities abroad.
In spite of his 2015 mental health admission, Susman has cleared federal high-level security clearance background checks without any hindrance, implying that the Office of Mental Health began reporting him to the NICS, State Police, and other federal law enforcement agencies only recently. In response to his NICS denial in November, he raised an appeal to the State Police and subsequently to the state Attorney General’s Office.
His ‘prohibited person’ designation not only caused the cancellation of his Global Entry status in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection program, but he also faces a potential arrest threat. Despite the daunting consequences, he emphatically expressed his intentions to retain and carry his firearms, both for employment and self-defense. His lawsuit demands for the state’s mental hygiene law pertaining to emergency admissions to be declared unconstitutional, prohibiting the state from enforcing that portion of the law, awarding nominal damages, and deeming Susman as the prevailing party for the purpose of an attorney’s fees award.