Earlier this year, Democrats did something absolutely shameful during the budget negotiations. They demanded that Republicans preserve a program at the Department of Veterans Affairs that has unconstitutionally disarmed hundreds of thousands of innocent military veterans
If Republicans didn't save the program, Democrats refused to vote for the budget. And just like that, the GOP caved and this horrendous program was allowed to survive.
Fast-forward to today. House and Senate leaders are negotiating over a spending package that would once again decide the fate of the VA's unconstitutional disarmament program. Democrats are demanding that more and more vets face disarmament and the GOP is caving to their demands again...
The program works like this: When veterans show up at the VA, an employee gives them a form that "strongly recommends" they assign a representative payee to help them manage their finances. The VA tells these veterans that this will help them re-integrate into society and let a spouse or family member handle the bills and benefits checks. This would also allow the representative payee to pick up medications on the veteran's behalf.
It's primarily an issue of convenience. But for veterans with amputated limbs and physical disabilities, this truly is a lifesaver.
But the whole thing is a trap. Anytime a veteran with even the smallest mental health concern checks a box asking for help managing their finances, the VA immediately deems them "mentally defective." Their name added to the FBI's background check database as a prohibited person. In addition to being flagged by the FBI and prohibited from buying guns, letters are dispatched to their homes demanding they surrender any firearms that they own. If the VA doesn't receive a response, then an agent is dispatched to the home.
All because they asked for help managing their finances...
Last time I checked, there is no caveat in the 2nd Amendment requiring financial literacy in order to own a gun. But that is exactly what this VA policy does.
All of this is done without any due process. Veterans are not given a hearing and the VA is not required to prove to a judge that they are unfit to own firearms. Like so many Obama-era policies, it is designed to assume gun owners are guilty until proven innocent.
If this sounds familiar, it should. Obama tried to implement an identical policy at the Social Security Administration just before leaving office. He targeted hundreds of thousands of elderly Americans who rely on family and friends to make sure bills get paid on time. The Obama administration determined that if someone is unable to manage their own finances, they should be disarmed and lose their 2nd Amendment rights.
We took this issue up and with your help, we were able to take a cause no one was talking about and pressure Congress into overruling the Obama administration's proposed disarmament regulation. We stopped Obama from copying this VA program and applying it to Social Security beneficiaries. It was a major 2nd Amendment victory.
Then, we turned to helping the Veterans. We led the charge on HR 1181, The Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act. With your help, we forced a vote in the House and it passed with a bipartisan majority of 240-175.
But then, it stalled. Mitch McConnell refused to even put the legislation up for a vote in the Senate. Because of his inaction, this bill is set to expire in just a few months.
The GOP leadership celebrated this vote in the House when it happened. They wanted to create the illusion of "doing something." But now, they are leaving this bill on the cutting room floor and negotiating a spending package with Democrats that would authorize the VA to disarm even more innocent veterans!
Do you know why the GOP is killing this bill? They don't want to appear "soft on guns" so close to an election.
They are writing off all of these Veterans. These are men and women who answered the call and volunteered to protect our country. You have a right to keep and bear arms because so many brave people throughout history like them answered these calls.
And now, the GOP is brushing them aside.
John Arnold is a Vietnam Veteran living in Idaho. A few years ago, he had a stroke. While he was recovering, he assigned a representative payee through the VA to help him manage his finances and benefits. The VA actually dispatched an employee to confiscate this veteran's firearms. When the government employee arrived at the Arnold home, he was "greeted" by the local sheriff and more than 1,700 community members. So, the VA backed down.
But not every case goes like this. Not every veteran has an army to turn the VA's confiscation agents away.
Well over three hundred thousand veterans have been unconstitutionally disarmed under this policy. Just last month, we heard from a veteran in Alaska who had his firearms confiscated because he called the VA's mental help line and asked to speak with a therapist. He had a family member helping manage his finances and that one call was enough to trigger confiscation.
The heroes living among us deserve better than this!
Right now, Congressional leaders from both parties are negotiating over a massive spending bill that will fund the most of the government. Democrats are demanding that this VA disarmament program be protected.
The Left has never encountered a gun confiscation program that they didn't like.
But the GOP is going to give it to them. They are terrified that they could lose their elections if they protect our veterans' constitutional rights.
These veterans sacrificed so much to protect all of us. Now, the GOP is asking them to sacrifice their right to keep and bear arms in order to protect their jobs. It's shameful.
Our goal today is to bombard Congress with more than 200k FaxBlasts demanding that this VA disarmament program be completely defunded and shut down.
And our message to Congress is simple: If they turn their back on these veterans, We the People will turn our backs on them!
Sincerely,
Joe Otto
Conservative Daily
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