Senator Murphy just stated on the Senate floor that Senator Grassley's amendment “would take people off the background checks list.”
The TRUTH of the matter is that Senator Grassley’s amendment simply demands that the federal government provide constitutional due process in order to protect the Second Amendment rights of Americans, just as due process is required when the federal government attempts to infringe upon other constitutional rights, such as the First Amendment right to free speech and press and Fourth Amendment right to privacy. Despite what some may say, Second Amendment rights aren’t any less than First or Fourth Amendment rights.
A stark example of the necessity for due process is the Department of Veterans Affairs’ determination that if a fiduciary is needed to administer benefit payments, then a veteran’s name is submitted to the gun ban list resulting in a total denial of a veteran’s right to possess and own firearms. In that example, the burden is on the veteran, not the government, and the government never proves the veteran is a danger to self or others before banning firearms. As of December 2015, almost 99 percent of names listed on the mental defective category for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System are from the VA.
In addition, Senator Murphy said that the amendment would “take people who were leaving a psychiatric institution and allow them to buy a weapon the next day.”
In TRUTH, Senator Grassley’s amendment actually necessitates an appropriate official to make the determination that the patient BOTH no longer requires involuntary commitment AND the person is not a danger to himself or others. A patient can’t simply leave the hospital and buy a gun. Even if the patient is discharged, the appropriate official must also conclude that he is not a danger to himself or others, before the person is eligible to purchase a firearm.
30-
