{"id":74818,"date":"2023-07-18T15:59:27","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T15:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/07\/18\/bill-to-protect-veterans-gun-rights-prompts-heated-debate-in-house\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:15:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:15:20","slug":"bill-to-protect-veterans-gun-rights-prompts-heated-debate-in-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/07\/18\/bill-to-protect-veterans-gun-rights-prompts-heated-debate-in-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill to protect veterans\u2019 gun rights prompts heated debate in House"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republican lawmakers on Tuesday accused Veterans Affairs leaders of depriving some veterans of their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2021\/09\/22\/va-zeroes-in-on-gun-safety-as-a-way-to-reduce-veteran-suicides\/\" target=\"_blank\">right to own firearms <\/a>and promised changes in coming weeks, but Democratic critics say those proposed moves could end up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/09\/19\/veterans-suicides-drop-to-lowest-rate-since-2006\/\" target=\"_blank\">leading to more suicides and self-harm <\/a>among vulnerable veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At issue is legislation proposed by<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2023\/02\/02\/new-house-vets-chair-plans-focus-on-pact-act-oversight-medical-access\/\" target=\"_blank\"> House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., <\/a>dubbed the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/bost.house.gov\/2023\/2\/bost-fights-to-protect-veterans-second-amendment-rights#:~:text=The%20Veterans%20Second%20Amendment%20Protection,help%20them%20manage%20their%20benefits.\" target=\"_blank\">Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act<\/a>.\u201d The measure would block VA officials from sharing some information with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/how-we-can-help-you\/more-fbi-services-and-information\/nics\" target=\"_blank\">National Instant Criminal Background Check System<\/a>, a federal database used to determine whether an individual can buy firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bost said about 8,000 veterans were reported to the system last year, most for financial incompetence reasons and not criminal acts or specific mental health problems. But the VA action would bar all of those veterans from purchasing weapons regardless of the underlying issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA should not be able to take away a veteran\u2019s Second Amendment rights because they need help managing their benefits,\u201d Bost said <a href=\"https:\/\/veterans.house.gov\/calendar\/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=6230\" target=\"_blank\">at a hearing on the issue Tuesday<\/a>. \u201cVeterans should not be treated any differently than every other American citizen. Even criminals have to be convicted of a crime in a court of law before their names are reported to the system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/09\/22\/va-zeroes-in-on-gun-safety-as-a-way-to-reduce-veteran-suicides\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"164\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/VASafeStorage.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA zeroes in on gun safety as a way to reduce veteran suicides<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Roughly 70 percent of veteran suicide deaths in 2019 involved a firearm.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislation would allow veterans to be reported to the background check database if a judge or other judicial authority rules that an individual veteran \u201cis a danger to themselves or others.\u201d Republican supporters said without such protections, veterans will avoid seeking help from VA for financial or mental health issues for fear of losing their constitutional rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Democratic lawmakers \u2014 and Veterans Affairs officials \u2014 said that language is impractical, mandating extra rounds of bureaucracy to solve a nearly non-existent problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ron Burke, Deputy Under Secretary for Oversight and Policy at VA, said that only 33 veterans last year appealed their fiduciary designation, and only 12 \u2014 fewer than half \u2014 had their status changed after review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is not a large number of individuals seeking relief here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Burke also said that VA does not report any individuals to the federal background check system for receiving mental health treatments, and battles against misinformation in the larger veterans community implying that seeking help can lead to guns being seized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2023\/01\/27\/high-turnover-on-house-veterans-affairs-committee-again-this-session\/\" target=\"_blank\">Committee ranking member Mark Takano, D-Calif.<\/a>, said he believes fear mongering by Republican lawmakers over the issue of veterans\u2019 Second Amendment rights has been more damaging than the current rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFirearms account for 70% of male veteran suicides and 50% of female veteran suicides,\u201d he said. \u201cVeterans are three times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. So, it begs the question; if we all care so deeply about preventing what is clearly an epidemic among veterans of death by suicide using a firearm, why would we pursue a bill \u2026 that puts more guns in the hands of the most vulnerable beneficiaries VA has?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Republican lawmakers argued that constitutional rights trump many of those concerns, and improving the process could result in more lives saved by increasing trust in VA services.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2022\/09\/19\/veterans-suicides-drop-to-lowest-rate-since-2006\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6829847.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Veterans suicides drop to lowest rate since 2006<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">But veterans are still significantly more likely to die by suicide than their civilian peers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Versions of Bost\u2019s bill have circulated around Capitol Hill for years with little success. This year, with Republicans holding the majority in the House, the measure has a good chance of advancing out of the chamber, putting more focus on the large issue of veterans\u2019 Second Amendment rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether the measure can become law is less clear. Democratic lawmakers who hold the majority in the Senate have not shown support for the idea, and President Joe Biden has made gun control and suicide prevention key focuses of his administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About 17 veterans a day die by suicide, according to the latest data provided by Veterans Affairs officials. That number rises to roughly 20 a day when active-duty service members and reservists are included in the calculations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Veterans or service members  in need of emergency counseling can reach the Veterans Crisis line by dialing 988 and selecting option 1 after connecting to reach a VA staffer. In addition, veterans, troops and their family members can also text 988 or 838255 for help, or visit <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/veteranscrisisline.net\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>VeteransCrisisLine.net<\/i><\/a><i> for assistance.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republicans say reforms are needed to restore faith in VA systems. Democrats say the changes could cost lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":75019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,7,23,12,26,62,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-74818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"THAW55MP3ZEIFC2HSCDYMVMD5A","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2023\/07\/18\/bill-to-protect-veterans-gun-rights-prompts-heated-debate-in-house\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bill to protect veterans\u2019 gun rights prompts heated debate in House - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Republicans say reforms are needed to restore faith in VA systems. 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