Posted on 02/15/2017 9:32:03 PM PST by nickcarraway
The Senate nixed an Obama-era rule that could block some people receiving Social Security disability benefits from being able to buy a gun.
Senators voted 57-43 to strike down a regulation that requires the Social Security Administration to report people who receive disability benefits and have a mental health condition to the FBI's background check system.
The database is used to determine eligibility for buying a firearm.
The Senate's move will send the resolution of disapproval, which also passed the House last week, to President Trump's desk, where he is expected to sign it.
The rule was implemented by the Obama administration after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, where 20 children and six educators died.
Murphy, who represented Newtown, Conn., in the House, lambasted his GOP colleagues ahead of the vote, arguing they were making it easier for individuals with a mental illness to buy a gun.
"The [Congressional Review Act] we have before us today will make it harder for the federal government to do what we have told them to do for decades, which is to put dangerous people and people who are seriously mentally ill on the list of people who are prohibited from buying a gun," he said from the Senate floor.
He added that "we know that people with serious mental illness in this country can go buy a very powerful weapon and do great damage with it."
Republicans are moving quickly to dismantle Obama-era regulations using the Congressional Review Act.
The move allows them to bypass the Senate's higher 60-vote threshold, which would require the support of Democrats, and undo a rule with a simple majority in both the House and Senate.
Critics argue the rule stripped Second Amendment rights from people who are not dangerously mentally ill, such as those with eating or sleeping disorders or disabilities that prevent them from managing their own finances.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) noted that 20 disability groups have come out against the regulation.
"The reality is that, like us, they believe the regulation is simply bad policy, places an unfair stigma on those with disabilities and violates their constitutional rights which is why a wide array of groups oppose it," he said from the Senate floor.
The National Rifle Association also opposed the rule. The group said the determination of who is mentally ill should be left to courts.
The rule was set to go into effect in December. If the Social Security Administration reported an individual to the FBI's background check system, the person would be able to appeal the decision.
Great news! More winning!
Nice of the Congress to finally join in the dismantling of the Obama legacy. Now how about some tax cuts and repealing Obamacare?
Stupid, ill conceived rule. Good for the Senate.
Not quite, doesn’t this mean schizophrenics on disability will not get reported as well?
Indeed. They are called Muslims.
Possibly. But there are other venues at local where citizens (relatives, healthcare professionals, etc.) can report someone who they actually have come in contact with......
The problem with the ‘rule’ is that the government is making a broad non-medical diagnosis and subsequent abridgement of rights solely based on some medical category. It is punishment without trial (or charge).
Ever heard of due process?
If somebody is too dangerous to have a gun, then he's too dangerous to be living independently outside of an institution.
Because stopping some older folks from using their own money (most of them paid into SS for decades) to buy guns would have stopped a 20 year old from massacring a bunch of kids....
Relax, it hasn't been 30 days yet. Trump is doing what he can with executive orders, and he pretty much has to wait on both houses of congress to write and pass bills for him to sign to further erase 0bama's damage (what he thinks is his "legacy") to this country.
The ATF needs to be funded so all non-violent felons can have the precious right to defend their family and go hunting with a gun. Libs have are using laws to take away the rights to gun ownership from non-violent people. If the truth were known, we all commit at least 3 felonies a day. The right to defend yourself and your family, to feed yourself and your family is God given.
Call your Congressman now.
Stoopuid Murphy knows full well, the Newtown shooter took the guns from the possession of his mother. Maybe mom did not realize her son was planning his shooting spree. But she is not alive to ask.
No amount of legislation would have prevented this tragedy. Shooter has access to the gun safe.
The intellectually dishonest Mur-for-me has no business crying for more gun control. Constituents or not.
ACLU, a strange bedfellow; where were they 4 years ago?
I agree.
It’s a rule that doesn’t affect a large number of people, but nonetheless it’s important to fix this. The left too often wins by tiny incremental measures until we suddenly find ourselves dealing with the cumulative results.
Was the shooter at Sandy Hook receiving Soc Sec? If so—WHY??? That could be a much bigger issue.
“If the truth were known, we all commit at least 3 felonies a day.”
Not so long ago I posted something on FR to the effect that no one can possibly be a law abiding citizen in this country no matter how hard they try and received a very nasty reply from someone who missed my whole point and seemed to think I was saying that I refused to follow the law. I don’t know why people don’t understand that in a country where lawyers have to work in narrow specialties because even those whose profession is the law cannot possibly deal with more than a tiny slice it is inevitable that we all become unknowing lawbreakers. In attempting to abide by the laws we know of or simply IMAGINE we know of we break other laws of which we are unaware in the process. I don’t really believe that even the most competent attorney in the country can possibly live for one week without unintentionally committing some sort of felony. If anyone disbelieves this the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” should have shown them the truth of what I say. Show me one human being who can comprehend all the ramifications of even that one single piece of legislation and I will rethink what I am saying.
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