Raw Story:
A provision in a Senate bill quietly adopted in 2008 yet to reach a vote would allow veterans in the FBI's criminal background system listed as "mentally incapacitated" to purchase firearms.
The provision is coming under fire in the wake of a mass shooting at Ft. Hood Army base earlier this month which killed 13. The new law would allow vets on the FBI list to buy weapons if they haven't been ruled ineligible by a judicial body.
A press release issued by Republican North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr explained his reasoning for the measure in 2008 after it was adopted by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. The measure is also supported by a key Democratic senator -- Jim Webb of Virginia.
"Currently, when the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) appoints a fiduciary to assist a veteran with managing their financial affairs, VA also deems the veteran mentally incompetent and reports him or her to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)," Burr's release wrote. "The Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act would require a judicial body to deem a veteran, surviving spouse, or child as a danger to himself or others before being listed in NICS, which would prohibit the veteran from being able to purchase certain firearms. The legislation is supported by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
1 comment:
I thought a lot of the guys who went postal years ago at the Post Office were vets?
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