Gun foes exploit Fort Hood tragedy to subvert vets' rights, Sen. Burr responds

November 7, 12:21 PMCharlotte Gun Rights ExaminerPaul Valone

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Photo courtesy of Senator Richard Burr
 

Gun rights advocates following the Fort Hood tragedy undoubtedly realize how preventable it was, and how the media refuses to ask the right questions, specifically:

• Why yet another massacre was perpetrated in yet another “gun free” zone;
• Why members of America’s military are disarmed and left to depend on the arrival of civilian police officers; and finally,
• Why the press seems so confused about the motives of shooter Moslem psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, who argued with others against Middle East war policy, had previously been investigated by the FBI for Internet postings equating suicide bombers with soldiers who sacrifice themselves to save others, who described his nationality as “Palestinian” despite being American-born, and who committed the atrocity while yelling "Allahu Akbar!”

USING SOLDIERS’ DEATHS TO ATTACK SOLDIERS’ RIGHTS

But it takes a special kind of Chutzpah to exploit the massacre of military personnel as justification for depriving those very same military personnel of due process of law.

Remarkably, that is exactly what the Violence Policy Center (VPC) and Handgun Control, Inc. (a/k/a/ “The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence”) did yesterday in attacking S. 669, the “Veteran’s 2nd Amendment Protection Act,” introduced by Senator Richard Burr (NC).

Said VPC front group “Freedom States Alliance,” in a hasty press release entitled “Shooting Shows Why Senator Burr’s (NC) Amendment to Allow Veterans Suffering From Mental Illness Easy Access to Guns Is Dangerous and Deeply Flawed”:

“… our lawmakers must recognize that soldiers with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and who suffer high rates of combat fatigue, PTSD, substance abuse and other mental health concerns, are at greater risk due to the easy access to guns. Despite this fact, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) is pushing a gun lobby backed bill, the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act (S. 669), that would limit the circumstances in which a veteran's name could be added to a federal database used to do instant background checks for gun purchases.”

Chimed in Handgun Control president Paul Helmke:

“When I heard of the tragedy yesterday, we were in the midst of planning a response to the latest dangerous legislative proposal from the gun lobby in the United States Senate - language to automatically restore access to guns to veterans designated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Justice Department as ‘mentally incapacitated’ or ‘mentally incompetent.’ In light of what happened yesterday - a violent attack by an emotionally unstable soldier - it is even clearer that the proposal being pushed by Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina should be rejected.”

S. 669 DEFENDS VETS RIGHTS

Unlike the 1900-page health care bill, S. 669 is short, simple and (at least should be) uncontroversial, and is designed to protect veterans’ rights by closing a loophole in previous legislation.

H.R. 2640, the “NICS Improvement Act of 2007,” previously enacted by Congress, requires reporting of mental health data for conducting gun purchase background checks. Those determined to be a danger to themselves or others incur a potentially permanent “firearms disability.”

Despite claims by the NRA and others that the law protects against arbitrary determinations by medical boards or authorities other than courts of law, however, loopholes remain under which veterans diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or other treatable maladies could be denied the right to own firearms, even permanently, without getting a day in court.

Specifically, S. 669 says a person “shall not be considered adjudicated as a mental defective … without the order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to himself or herself or others.”

BURR RESPONDS

In response to Helmke’s press release, Sen. Burr responded:

"In this time of personal and national tragedy when most people’s prayers and thoughts are rightfully with the families and friends affected by the tragedy at Fort Hood, one can only be amazed that Mr. Helmke would use such an event to try to advance his personal agenda.

"It is a shame that this process has gotten to a point where some feel that they can exploit the senseless murder of American soldiers in the quest to secure personal triumph.”

Gun rights supporters who believe veterans and others should receive due process of law under the Fifth Amendment before being deprived of the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment should:

• Thank Sen. Burr for his efforts by e-mailing and calling (202) 224-3154; and
• Tell Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid by e-mailing and calling 202-224-3542, and telling him that S. 669 deserves a prompt and fair committee hearing.
   

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