16 Mar 2017 12:22 pm
Some more of the NRA's handiwork.
H.R. 1181, the "Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act"
Some of them also kill others.
The same group who every time there is a mass shooting says that we have to do something about the mental issues will have a lot of blood on their hands.
H.R. 1181, the "Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act"
Bill Enabling Gun Sales to 'Mentally Incompetent' Vets Draws Criticism
WASHINGTON – A House bill seeking to end federal checks that prevent more than 167,000 veterans deemed "mentally incompetent" from keeping or purchasing firearms is receiving criticism from some Democrats and former generals.
"This would be irresponsible, dangerous, and life threatening to those who need access to care, not weapons," a group of 14 former military officials wrote to lawmakers in a letter opposing the bill.
The Department of Veterans Affairs considers veterans who cannot manage their VA benefits and need another person to help with their finances as "mentally incompetent." The department reports the names of those veterans to the FBI, which adds them to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System – the national database that gun merchants are required to check before selling a firearm.
But last week, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs advanced legislation that would do away with that practice, and instead require the court system to determine whether veterans pose a threat to themselves or others before they're added to the database.
20 Veterans a day commit suicide, two thirds of them with a gun.Petraeus, retired generals fight NRA-backed gun bill for vets deemed ‘mentally defective’
Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus and a cadre of retired generals have joined a nonprofit organization’s fight against “The Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act.”
Republican Reps. Mike Conaway of Texas and Rep. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio in late January introduced H.R. 629, which would prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs from labeling veterans “mentally defective” if they use a fiduciary to navigate the system.
The Veterans Coalition for Common Sense — a group created by former Democrat Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona — claims the bill will put veterans and civilians in danger while denying the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) vital information.
“The bill you are debating comes at a time when an average of 20 veterans commit suicide each day, two-thirds of whom do so by using a firearm,” the group said in a statement, USA Today reported Monday.
“We know that non-deployed veterans are at a 61 percent higher risk of suicide compared to the American civilian population, and deployed veterans are at a 41 percent higher risk.
When vulnerable veterans have access to firearms, they can do harm not only to themselves but also to family members and loved ones.”
Some of them also kill others.
The same group who every time there is a mass shooting says that we have to do something about the mental issues will have a lot of blood on their hands.