Social Security Gun Ban Repealed
Posted March 10, 2017 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® In February, the House of Representatives approved its first effort of the new Congress to roll back gun regulations, voting to overturn a rule that would bar gun ownership by some individuals who have been deemed mentally impaired by the Social Security Administration.The House voted 235-180 largely along party lines to repeal an Obama-era rule requiring the Social Security Administration to send records of some beneficiaries to the federal firearms background check system after they have been deemed mentally incapable of managing their financial affairs.
The rule, when implemented, would affect about 75,000 recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income who require a representative to manage their benefits because of a disabling mental disorder, ranging from anywhere from anxiety to schizophrenia.
Republicans argued that the rule, which was vigorously opposed by gun-rights and disability groups, would unfairly stigmatize people with disabilities and strip them of their Second Amendment rights without due process.
“This is a slap in the face for those in the disabled community because it paints all those who suffer from mental disorders with the same broad brush,” said House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. “It assumes that simply because an individual suffers from a mental condition, that individual is unfit to exercise his or her Second Amendment rights.”
Democrats agreed that the government must not stigmatize those with disabilities, but said this rule affects a small group with severe, long-term mental disorders preventing them from doing any work. Passage of the resolution puts others at risk, they said.
The regulation was repealed under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to dismiss an outgoing administration’s recently enacted regulations. It requires only a simple majority vote in the Senate.
By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®
