A bill is being proposed that could help almost 200,000 veterans preserve their right to keep and bear arms and their right to their own finances – both of which Obama is trying to take away. The legislation is being spearheaded by Senator Rand Paul who introduced the bill on April 19, 2016. Here is Rand Paul’s press release on the issue on his website.
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This bill is a response to an executive action passed by President Obama in Jan. 2016. Here is the White House’s press release on the action.
The executive action passed by Obama targets, in part with previous laws and regulations, veterans and calls into question their “mental competence”. Shortly after the action was passed veterans began receiving letters from the VA stating that an “unidentified report” indicated they may be declared “incompetent” or “mentally defective” and would be stripped of their 2nd Amendment rights. These vets were then told they would need to prove competence within 60 days.
Along with losing their 2nd Amendment rights vets were also threatened with losing the right to control their own finances. Any veteran declared “incompetent” would also have a fiduciary appointed to them by the VA. Again, they were given 60 days to prove their competence.
These threats are a clear violation of the “due process” clause of the constitution which places the burden of proving these veterans to be “incompetent” on the government, not the veterans themselves. It should be noted that these veterans were not evaluated by mental health, or general health care, providers to prove their alleged “incompetence”.
The official language used by the Federal Government to declare a veteran as “incompetent” is anyone of “marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease.” This includes anyone who has ever alluded to suffering from depression at any point in their medical history or who has been declared incompetent to manage pension or disability payments.
The executive action is not only predatory but borders on extortion. According to the United States Justice Foundation, veterans who wish to keep their second amendment rights may do so by forfeiting their VA benefits. Meaning that veterans, who are allegedly too incompetent to own weapons, may do so simply by forfeiting their medical and financial benefits.
Veterans are not the only citizens being targeted by Obama’s executive action. Anyone simpling living with a veteran can be denied their 2nd Amendment rights based on their choice to live with someone who could be defined as “incompetent”. Many fear that this executive action is laying the groundwork to disarm a large percent of the population.
Sen. Paul’s bill would abolish Obama’s executive action. It would restore gun rights to seniors, veterans and anyone who has already had their rights revoked by the action. Sen. Paul released the following statement regarding his bill.
“I refuse to stand idly by while the Obama administration unilaterally strips away gun rights from our nation’s veterans and seniors. The Protecting Gun Rights and Due Process Act will provide necessary protection for gun-owning Americans, and ultimately ensure that the Second Amendment is not infringed upon,”
Sen. Paul is not alone in his fight against the unconstitutional executive action. Rep. Tom Emmer introduced his version of Sen. Paul’s bill to the House of Representatives. His bill aims to make it easier for people who have been denied their 2nd Amendment rights due to errors on background check to have their rights reinstated. His bill would have inaccurate information removed from an individual’s records.
Emmer also claims that his bill would hold the FBI accountable for all appeals requested by veterans who had their rights stripped away. The FBI would be forced to report the number of appeals it and would be given 60 days to respond.
Do you think Obama’s order should be repealed? Sound off in the comment section below!
