The Obama administration wants to make sure that seniors on Social Security are mentally sound before they are allowed to purchase a gun, according to a new report from the Los Angeles Times.
If people in the Social Security system are unable to manage their own affairs because of “marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease,” the Times reports, those people might find it difficult to purchase a firearm, if that information is reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
At this point, Social Security is not required to submit information to the background check system, but agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs do, causing problems for veterans who now have their Second Amendment rights taken away after they have been deemed mentally incompetent.
“If the Obama administration attempts to deny millions of law-abiding citizens their constitutional rights by executive fiat, the NRA stands ready to pursue all available avenues to stop them in their tracks,” Chris W. Cox of the National Rifle Association said in a statement reacting to the proposed regulation.
According to the Times, the Social Security agency “has been drafting its policy outside of public view.”