Amid hysterical and inaccurate headlines after Congress voted to overturn an Obama-era gun grab, it’s important Americans understand the facts. Contrary to what some media headlines implied, everyone who buys a firearm from a licensed dealer must go through a background check, and those who are adjudicated as dangerously mentally ill remain prohibited.
The bill that was so outrageously mischaracterized had to do with who is banned from gun ownership and why. Under direction from the Obama administration, the Social Security Administration wanted to prevent some of the most vulnerable Americans from exercising their constitutional rights. Specifically, it tried to prevent gun ownership by people on the Social Security disability rolls who use a representative payee to help with their finances.
Under the proposed rule, these individuals would have been reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and stripped of their Second Amendment rights without due process. Nor would there be any finding that the individuals in question are a danger to themselves or others.
Mental health experts have argued that there is not a proven correlation between mental illness and violence. These folks are largely law-abiding, vulnerable people who just want to live their lives and exercise their rights free of unfair government interference. The fact that they would lose a fundamental right because they’re receiving treatment for a condition and want some financial help is un-American.
The Obama administration attempted to quietly enact this rule during its final days in power. Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has the authority to review and reverse any action that occurred in the final 60 legislative days of an administration. Congress has done its part in scrapping a bad rule that would have indiscriminately stripped vulnerable Americans of a constitutional right. We look forward to President Trump signing this important legislation.
Chris Cox is executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action.
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