Bill Giving Veterans Deemed 'Mentally Incompetent' Easier Access to Guns Gains Steam with Senate Approval
Rebecca Kheel
Thu, October 26, 2023 at 12:08 PM EDT·4 min read
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The Senate has approved a measure that would ease some veterans' access to guns, brushing aside objections from most Democrats and the Department of Veterans Affairs that doing so could hinder suicide prevention efforts.
The legislation would prohibit the VA from reporting veterans who are found incapable of managing their own finances to the FBI's national background check database without first getting a judge's consent. The Senate passed the measure by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., in a 53-45 vote Wednesday afternoon.
The VA reports the names of veterans who are deemed mentally incompetent to a national criminal background check database used during the purchase of firearms, but the practice has drawn criticism from gun rights advocates in Congress. The vote came hours before at least 18 people were killed in a mass shooting in Maine, where authorities have identified an Army reservist as a person of interest.
The Senate legislation was passed as an amendment to the annual VA spending bill, which must still be hashed out by both chambers of Congress before being passed into law.
https://news.yahoo.com/measure-restore-gun-rights-mentally-160839980.html