The Senate approved a measure that would make it easier for veterans with mental issues to get a gun, brushing aside objections from most Democrats and the Department of Veterans Affairs that doing so could hinder suicide prevention efforts. The vote came hours before at least 18 people were killed in a mass shooting in Maine, where authorities have identified an Army reservist as a person of interest.
The legislation would prohibit the VA from reporting veterans who are found incapable of managing their own finances to the FBI's national background check database without first getting a judge's consent. The Senate passed the measure by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., in a 53-45 vote Wednesday afternoon.
The VA reports the names of veterans who are deemed mentally incompetent to a national criminal background check database used during the purchase of firearms, but the practice has drawn criticism from gun rights advocates in Congress.
GOP Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee Mike Bost said one of his top priorities was to pass a bill to bar the VA from reporting someone to NICS solely on the basis that they were appointed a fiduciary -- without a judge's order saying the veteran is a danger to themselves and others.
The VA, though, has firmly opposed the bill, pointing to statistics that show a correlation between suicidal ideation and financial issues, and that show suicide attempts involving firearms are more lethal than other methods.
The program at issue "protects some of our most vulnerable veterans, and we do believe that taking firearms away -- not us, but the process -- does protect our veterans," Ron Burke, the VA's deputy under secretary for policy and oversight, testified at a House hearing earlier this year. "Preventing veterans suicide is the No. 1 clinical focus for VA, and we believe that the process works."
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