HR 2640, which has been dubbed the "veterans disarmament act" by gun owners, would place any veteran who has ever been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the federal gun ban list.
The bill passed in the House in June and was later passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee both times without a recorded vote. Gun owners have been trying to raise awareness and beat down the legislation ever since.
The bill, sponsored by outspoken anti-second amendment representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), also applies to anyone who has been diagnosed with ADHD as a child and to anyone who develops Alzheimer's. Gun owners fear that in time the diagnosis of any kind of mental affliction could end with rights being stripped.
Another of those behind the legislation is Senator Chuck Schumer who, according to Gun Owners of America, is circulating an "agreement" which would waive the Senate rules in order to bring up and pass the bill:
This agreement is extremely diabolical, as it would eliminate the ability of pro-gun senators to offer amendments which would clean up the legislation... and would grease the skids for immediate passage!
But there is good news: In order for Schumer's "agreement" to prevail, he must get "unanimous consent." This means that just ONE single senator can block it.
The proposed legislation is another case that hinges on the government's incessant creation of psychological profiles for everything that are then used to categorize people and accordingly strip rights.
Section 102((1)©(iv) in HR 2640 provides for dumping raw medical records into the system which will then, by law, serve as the basis for gun banning.
Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America has compared the veteran's disarmament bill to actions undertaken by the Clinton Administration in the late 90s:
This is exactly what President Bill Clinton did over seven years ago when his administration illegitimately added some 83,000 veterans into the National Criminal Information System (NICS system) -- prohibiting them from purchasing firearms, simply because of afflictions like PTSD.
Pratt explains that the bill radically redefines key legal terms to allow gun ownership rights to be stripped on the findings of a psychiatric diagnosis, where in the past gun rights could only be withdrawn through an adjudication by a judge, magistrate or court with the protections of due process.
Pratt also points out that although veterans affected by the bill could seek expungement under its terms, the expungement process in general has been blocked for over a decade by a "funds cut-off" engineered by Schumer himself.
The veterans disarmament act is tantamount to declaring the fear of an authoritarian government, the cornerstone of the second amendment, a mental illness. Once again we are witnessing another all out attack on the basic founding principles of the American Republic.
The following action is recommended by Gun Owners of America:
Please contact your two U.S. Senators RIGHT AWAY and urge them to OBJECT to Senator Chuck Schumer's "unanimous consent agreement" to steamroll H.R. 2640, the McCarthy anti-gun bill.
You can use the pre-written message below and send it as an e-mail by visiting the GOA Legislative Action Center (where phone and fax numbers are also available).
----- Pre-written letter-----
Dear Senator:
Currently, anti-gun zealot Chuck Schumer is trying to get "unanimous consent" to steamroll the Senate in connection with Carolyn McCarthy's anti-gun bill, H.R. 2640.
If this bill is passed, an American would be barred from owning guns if:
* He is a U.S. veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; or
* As a kid, he was diagnosed with ADHD in connection with the IDEA program.
Not to mention the fact that an ailing grandfather could have his entire gun collection seized, based only on a diagnosis of Alzheimer's from a Medicare home health provider (and there goes the family inheritance).
Gun owners don't support this legislation, better known as the Veterans Disarmament Act. The Military Order of the Purple Heart is opposed to it, having stated on June 18 of this year, that "For the first time the legislation, if enacted, would statutorily impose a lifetime gun ban on battle-scarred veterans."
Please place a hold on the McCarthy bill and object to any unanimous consent agreement to discharge the bill.
Sincerely,
