Senator Grassley Has Second History on Veterans Gun Rights

I had some extra time this morning to read some old emails and right now, I am very glad I did. This one came in on the 17th. It is about Senator Grassley all in a dither about veterans losing their "second amendment rights" because of the VA. Seriously? He thought he could get away with it? He voted for it back in 2007!!!!!!!

Joshua Omvig Bill Signed into law Nov 05, 2007 Joshua Omvig Bill Signed into law Senator Chuck Grassley today made the following statement after President George Bush signed into law the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Bill. The law is named for Joshua Omvig, an Iowa soldier who committed suicide upon returning from serving in Iraq. “Today’s action helps give veterans who are suffering mental anguish a place to turn when all else seems lost. These are brave men and women who need to know that there is help out there and they deserve medical treatment just like any other veteran.”

Sen. Grassley: VA Trampling Vets' Second Amendment Rights 
NewsMax
By Courtney Coren
Friday, 17 Apr 2015

"That's no determination of whether you're mentally defective." Grassley argues that "not being able to handle your own money is not a high-enough standard that you shouldn't be able to have a gun."

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley tells Newsmax TV that there's no way to justify the Veterans Administration's putting so many veterans on the "mental defective" list, which prevents them from legally obtaining firearms. Grassley wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder this week saying that the classification, which affects 83,000 veterans, "effectively voids their Second Amendment rights." 

"This is something that we're not going to be able to justify," the Iowa Republican told J.D. Hayworth on "America's Forum" on Newsmax TV on Friday. read more here
Some think the latest bill Senator Coburn held up was the only one but way back in 2007, he held up another suicide prevention bill because of gun rights and tracking veterans. Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention

Senator Coburn Opposed the Bill Because He Was Concerned that Data-Gathering Would Prevent Veterans from Purchasing Guns. Coburn expressed concern that a section of the bill saying the Veterans Affairs Department ‘shall provide for appropriate tracking of veterans’ would result in data-gathering that could prevent veterans from purchasing handguns. Coburn said his concern was that if the department shared health data with other federal agencies, such as the Justice Department, then veterans with mental illness could be barred from purchasing handguns. [CQ Today, 8/23/07]

But, again another politician tried to rewrite their own history because Grassley not only supported it, he was part of starting it.
From Senator Tom Harkin

Let me give a little bit of history. I introduced this legislation, along with my colleague from Iowa, Senator Grassley, after learning about the case of a young Iowan--his name was Joshua Omvig--who tragically took his own life shortly after returning home from an 11-month deployment in Iraq. Joshua was a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, 339th MP Company, based in Davenport, IA. Before leaving for Iraq, he was a member of the Grundy Center Volunteer Fire Department and the Grundy Center Police Reserves. He was honored to serve his country in the Reserves and hoped to return to his community to serve as a police officer.