CCRKBA LAUDS SENATE VOTE TO PROTECT 2A RIGHTS OF SOC.-SEC. RECIPIENTS

The Obama administration regulation required the Social Security Administration to submit the names of SS recipients with apparent “mental impairments” who had third parties manage their benefits to the federal National Instant Background Check System (NICS) to block their ability to buy firearms. The measure now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. “This rule was more about disqualifying as many people as possible from exercising their Second Amendment Rights than it ever was about public safety,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Even the American Civil Liberties union opposed Obama’s overreaching restriction. We are delighted that the Senate voted to rescind this regulation, and we encourage gun owners to politely contact the White House and ask President Trump to sign it.” Gottlieb noted that gun owners have been among the regulation’s harshest critics, adding, “And I’m one of them.” “The Obama restriction was overly broad, and threatened the rights of an estimated 75,000 people,” he stated. “We couldn’t stand by and allow people with disabilities to be essentially demonized by a regulation from an anti-gun administration, so we were happy that so many gun owners made their voices heard on Capitol Hill. “There are far better ways to deal with people who have mental disabilities than to stigmatize them by lumping their names in with criminals,” Gottlieb observed. “President Trump’s signature on this measure will be one more step toward making the Second Amendment great again.”