Thread: Report: Hidden Measure in Spending Bill Affects Gun Rights

Report: Hidden measure in spending bill affects gun rights of senior citizens






March 23, 2018

DML


Tucked within the new $1.3 trillion, 2,232-page spending bill that none of the lawmakers were even able to read in its entirety is a measure that jeopardizes the Second Amendment rights of 4.2 million senior citizens.



Fox News explained the measure in a special report Thursday:



Just before President Obama left office, his administration finalized new regulations banning Social Security recipients from buying a gun if they have trouble managing their finances.


About 10 percent of all people 65 and older risked being classified as “financially incompetent” – about 4.2 million in all.


Using the Congressional Review Act, Republicans and two Democrats passed a bill overturning the regulation. But the bill did more than that. It also prevents any future president from reinstituting the ban without new legislative authorization from Congress.


Unfortunately, the spending bill passed Thursday allows the ban to be reinstituted because it reauthorizes the 2007 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act. This act allowed government agencies, not just the courts, to determine if someone is mentally incompetent to buy or possess a gun.


House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said during testimony late Wednesday that he was “disturbed” that the bill would undo part of Republicans’ good work. But by Thursday morning, the House leadership had decided to go ahead with the measure.


Fox also noted another pro-gun control measure inserted by Democrats: Another part of the spending bill authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to do research on “gun violence.”


The House of Representatives approved the bill Thursday, in a 256-167 vote, with 145 Republicans and 111 Democrats voting yes, and 90 Republicans and 77 Democrats voting no.



Just after midnight, the Senate also approved the bill, in a 65-32 vote.









http://dennismichaellynch.com/report...nior-citizens/