NRA says 4.2M Americans could lose gun rights
NRA says 4.2M Americans could lose gun rights
Author: Dave Delozier,
The Social Security Administration is developing a new policy to address the reporting of mentally incapacitated beneficiaries to the federal government’s gun-purchase background check system, which could prevent more than 4 million Americans from buying a gun.
National Rifle Association officials said the policy change could impact 4.2 million Americans who receive Social Security benefits and have a “representative payee” to manage those benefits. The NRA said it will force seniors to decide between arming themselves or receiving their Social Security checks.
Federal laws prohibit the sale of firearms to individuals who “have been adjudicated as a mental defective or been committed to a mental institution.”
Seniors have strong opinions on both sides of the argument.
“That is discrimination. They are against the elderly and the handicapped and no, the government should not get involved,” Marian Skille said.
“If you’re incompetent I really don’t think you should have a gun,” Dorothy Kaltenberg said. “In fact, I would be happy if they would stop them from having a gun because if they don’t know enough to balance their checkbook and do everyday living, why should they have a gun?”
Some seniors said that the loss of some mental capacity should not disqualify them from owning a gun.
“Just because I have some degree of incapacitation doesn’t mean that I’m not mentally alert or able to not know what is going on,” Verna Zwaga said. “I believe if I live for a long time in a community, the people who might break into my house probably know that and I still feel like I need to reserve the right to defend myself.”
Other seniors worry about the danger a deadly weapon can pose in the hands of someone with a mental incapacity.
“Probably if you can’t balance your checkbook you have some problems, so some tighter controls have to be enforced,” Jean Ruhde said.
http://www.channel3000.com/news/NRA-says-4-2M-Americans-could-lose-gun-rights/34409298