Second Amendment advocates are pushing Congress to pass legislation that would protect gun rights for veterans accused of being mentally incompetent by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Under current law, veterans seeking mental health treatment or assistance managing their finances by tapping into their benefits are often appointed a fiduciary by the VA, flagged as mentally incompetent, and reported to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. In turn, the FBI can prohibit them from owning a gun, a policy critics say places the label of mentally incompetent on veterans without a court order proving the claim and strips away Second Amendment freedoms without the constitutional right to due process.

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Whaley, a 20-year Army veteran whose nonprofit group boasts around 1.6 million veteran members, highlighted a Mission Roll Call survey of veterans nationwide that found 83% support Congress changing the law to “protect veterans’ due process rights.”

“That’s just wrong on so many levels. One is no judges involved with this, nobody making sure that it was done properly,” Whaley continued. “Why are we making it difficult, or putting a stigma to veterans getting mental health treatment? And that could be anything from, ‘Hey, I’ve had a bad dream. I’ve had some issues dealing with the situation.’ Doesn’t mean they’re suicidal, doesn’t mean they’re dangerous, but why would we make that stigma for them not to lose their Second Amendment rights?”

The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs most recently held a hearing on the legislation in February, where Bost argued the bill “is not about guns on demand, [but] about giving veterans the same due process as every other American.”

Read the full article HERE: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/3384594/second-amendment-fight-expand-due-process-veterans-deemed-incompetent/