Jerry Moran (R-KS) reports that his bill, which basically strips the Department of Veterans Affairs of their power to strip Second Amendment rights from veterans that have a fiduciary appointed to them. This was a despicable Clinton era practice. Moran’s legislation requires a judicial act in order for someone to be adjudicated. This is part of a larger veterans benefits bill, so it should have no issue getting a floor vote, getting past the Senate, and getting President Obama’s signature.
Strangely enough the Bradys are opposing this bill. Really? You still have a process for adjudicating someone, it just requires taking it to court rather than a unilateral decision by a government bureaucrats. The Brady position seems pretty radical to me, for a group that says they just want reasonable gun laws.
“THREAT: This legislation could allow more than 100,000 mentally incapacitated or incompetent persons to arm themselves immediately, despite findings by the VA that they are unfit to manage their affairs.
URGENCY: The legislation poses a serious danger to veterans, their families, and the public. Anyone unable to manage his or her own affairs due to mental illness should not be permitted to take on the responsibilities of gun possession. There is a heightened risk of suicide when a dangerously mentally ill person has access to guns. At least 121 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have been charged with a killing after returning from war.”
I wonder how our veterans feel about Brady’s position?
Makes me wish I hadn’t done any fighting on their behalf. Unfortunately, they get to enjoy the same freedoms as everyone else that we protected, even while they seek to restrict the freedoms of my brothers in arms.
While Moran’s bill is definitely the faster way to do this, in some ways it might be preferable to have the law overturned by the courts.
If any gun law is ripe for overturning on the basis of Due Process, a law like this, which allows some bureaucrat to deny a fundamental right, would be it.
The Senate version of this bill is S. 669 and was introduced by Sen. Richard Burr of NC. It has 18 co-sponsors of which only one – James Webb of VA – is a Democrat. Burr is the ranking Republican member of the Senate Vet Affairs Committee.
BTW, he was a featured speaker at the NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte.