Congress appears on the verge of erasing one of Barack Obama’s last actions before leaving office; a rule to prevent certain Social Security recipients from obtaining firearms if they receive certain types of disability payments if they were determined to be mentally impaired, the Washington Times reported.
Reuters noted that on Monday, the House Rules Committee sent this regulation to the full House chamber “to ax” along with two other regulations.
It was one of those rules that seem more aimed at disqualifying as many people as possible from exercising their Second Amendment rights. Even the National Rifle Association made a stink about it recently, asserting that the rule would “co-opt the (Social Security Administration) into a gun control apparatus.” The plan is aimed at identifying disability recipients as “mental defectives,” the NRA asserted.
But the former president apparently goofed by waiting until the last minute to slide this gun control effort into place. Enter the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a somewhat obscure law that allows Congress to review federal rules within 60 days of their adoption.
Erica Soto Lamb, spokeswoman for anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety lobbying group, is miffed because the rule ostensibly was aimed at keeping guns out of the wrong hands.
But Louisiana Congressman Ralph Lee Abraham was quoted by the Washington Times asserting that, “This rule is a clear violation of disabled Americans’ due process rights, and passing this resolution would send a strong message that Congress and President Trump still believe our Constitution is worth defending.”
This isn’t the first time the government has taken steps to strip Second Amendment rights from people, Fox News reported. The Department of Veterans Affairs has also been busy, reporting the names of more than 257,000 veterans to the National Instant Check System (NICS) “when they have been unable to manage their own financial affairs,” Fox noted.
But should this raise questions about people who use financial planners or other specialists who help manage their finances? What about people who use accounting services?
Congress is reportedly planning to move this week on the effort to reverse several Obama rules dealing with the environment. The Social Security disability rule is among them.
Related:
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