Gun rule is hurting veterans

First, no, President Obama does not want to take away your rights to have a gun. He was a Constitutional Professor after all and believes in the what the Founding Fathers laid down. This ruling came down before he was President and has done more harm to PTSD veterans than protecting them.

After presentations to veterans I have a question and answer session. This is the most asked question of all. It is preventing them from getting help for PTSD from the VA because they are afraid they will have to give up their guns. Imagine a combat veteran depending on his weapon for his life while deployed into combat, then telling them they are no longer responsible enough to have a fire arm. Some of them also need their guns because they are in law enforcement. Did anyone think of them?

PTSD comes in different levels and when you have a veteran that is no treat to himself or others, add this concern into the mix, no matter how the wording in this bill went, you have a huge problem. Would you rather have a PTSD with a gun getting help or a PTSD veteran with a gun, getting no help? Easy answer on this one.

This issue needs to be fixed and fast. It was not a wise move even though it sounded that way. It's kept veteran from getting help.

Senator Coburn was in a fight over this on the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act, which did make changes in the way the VA responded. Here is part of the fight he had.

Coburn Cites Defense of the 2nd Amendment
The junior senator of Oklahoma has taken on a new cause however, quite possibly his most controversial of all. United States Senators are allowed to place a hold on legislation thus blocking it from coming to the floor if they have serious reservations about such legislation. Tom Coburn has had a hold on the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act of 2006 for nearly six months now. The bill is meant to dramatically increase funding to prevent what has been proven to be the sky rocketing suicide rate among veterans of both those who have served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Now Coburn objects to the bill because it mandates that veterans receive a mental health screen when they come back from duty. Apparently Coburn is afraid that the gun rights of veterans will be trampled upon if they admit to owning a firearm during the health screening.

Coburn Cites Defense of the 2nd Amendment

Now you know what is behind all of this. The words our elected use should always be thought of very carefully to know if what they think they are saying will help or hurt. In this case, it ended up hurting the veterans they wanted to help.

Gun Rights Lobby Prepares To Weigh In On Sotomayor
By Greg Vadala, CQ Staff
With congressional Democrats divided on gun issues and the Obama administration steering clear of the topic, gun rights advocates have bagged new legislative trophies this year and are taking aim at additional targets.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America have an ambitious to-do list. They are preparing to:

•Weigh in on Obama’s nomination of federal appellate court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

•Advance a proposal by Sen. Richard M. Burr , R-N.C., to ensure that veterans are not wrongfully denied the right to bear arms.

On the legislative front, both groups support Burr’s legislation (S 669) on veterans’ gun rights. Under current law, the Department of Veterans Affairs is required to report to the FBI’s criminal background-check database — the system firearms dealers use to determine who can buy guns — any information on veterans determined to be mentally “defective” and unable to manage their own finances. Burr’s bill, co-sponsored by Jim Webb , D-Va., would prohibit the VA from sending the names of those veterans to the database unless a judicial authority rules them a danger to themselves or others.

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, on which Burr is ranking member, approved the measure in May. Burr is looking to attach it to another piece of legislation because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., is otherwise unlikely to bring it to the floor.

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