The Constitution guarantees all Americans – regardless of their race, status, or creed – fundamental freedoms that shape our way of life. That includes the right to bear arms to protect ourselves and our families. But for too long, hundreds of thousands of veterans have wrongfully been discriminated against simply because they have fiduciaries to help them manage their finances. For decades those veterans have been automatically reported to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) list with zero evidence whatsoever that they are a danger to themselves or others. Even criminals receive due process in a court of law before they are reported to the NICS list. Yet, veterans have been treated worse than criminals simply because of their financial situation.
Under current law, a veteran who needs assistance managing their finances and VA benefits because of a disability – without any additional finding by a court of law or any medical professional that the veteran may be dangerous – is reported by a VA bureaucrat to the FBI’s NICS list and stripped of their Second Amendment rights. Although the FY 2024 MilCon/VA Appropriations bill and subsequent Continuing Resolutions ended this practice temporarily, veterans deserve a permanent fix. As a gun owner, veteran, hunter, and most importantly, an American, this unjust practice has disturbed me since I came to Congress over ten years ago. Why should veterans – the men and women who fought to defend the Constitutional rights of every American – be treated like second-class citizens when it comes to their own rights?
It is important to understand that VA strips disabled veterans of their Constitutional right to bear arms without ever considering whether they are suicidal, homicidal, or a threat to their community. VA’s practice stigmatizes and discriminates against the disabled veteran community. We simply cannot assume anyone with a disability is automatically dangerous. There is also zero data to support the idea that a veteran who is unable to manage their finances because of a disability is automatically dangerous. But the current law suggests otherwise – it’s time to change that for good.
I, alongside my House and Senate Republican colleagues, am leading H.R. 1041, the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act, to make clear first that this practice towards veterans with fiduciaries is discriminatory and wrong, and second, that a veteran’s Constitutional right to bear arms should only be lost after they have received due process in a court of law. Should a veteran with a fiduciary lose their Second Amendment rights, a judge –should make that decision – with evidence to back it up – not a VA bureaucrat. My bill is in response to all the veterans who have told me that VA’s NICS reporting practice is the reason why they won’t go to VA for care or earned benefits. I’m focused on breaking down barriers to care, not creating more of them. The Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act would permanently ensure that all veterans receive the same due process rights as every other American.
In every other State and Federal legal system, civilians and criminals must be proven dangerous by a judge based on evidence before they are stripped of their Constitutional right to defend themselves – veterans should not be treated any differently. If a veteran with a financial advisor wants to hunt with their grandson or protect their property, they should be able to. My bill would make that abundantly clear to safeguard the rights our men and women in uniform have given their lives in defense of – so let’s fulfill that promise.
Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., is a Marine Corps veteran and serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
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