The VA operates a fiduciary program to assist and protect veterans unable to manage their financial affairs on their own due to injury, disease or age, according to the agency. A family member typically is appointed to help.
“When a VA beneficiary is unable to manage their VA benefits, we appoint and work closely with a fiduciary to ensure those funds are used in the beneficiary’s best interest,” the VA states on its website.
Going forward, the VA will only seek to include a veteran’s name in the FBI database after a court determines the individual is a danger to self or others, the agency said.
Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association were among gun rights groups Wednesday to laud the VA decision.
“Losing your gun rights because you can’t manage your checkbook is wrong and ridiculous. Veterans should not have fewer rights and protections than other Americans,” said retired Air Force Col. Val Finnell, who directs the Pennsylvania chapter of the Gun Owners of America, a nonprofit advocacy organization.
The VA, in partnership with the Justice Department, is working to scrub the names of veterans currently in the FBI database because they were appointed fiduciaries.
“This action reverses a longstanding VA policy that strips the Second Amendment rights of our veterans without any due process,” said John Commerford, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, the lobbying arm for the NRA.
Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, echoed support for the policy change.
Bost said he is seeking to advance legislation to the House floor to codify gun ownership protections for veterans assigned fiduciaries.
Republican lawmakers in both chambers introduced a bill to make it illegal for the VA to deny veterans the right to possess a firearm without due process, after they are appointed a money manager. The bill is pending a final vote.
But some Democratic lawmakers expressed opposition to changing VA policy.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said the VA restrictions should be kept in place and are effective in stopping “troubled veterans” from buying and possessing guns.
He warned that veteran suicides may increase without the controls. Veterans die by suicide at a higher rate than the non-veteran population.
“Guns are used in the vast majority of veteran suicides,” Blumenthal said. “This administration should be focused on measures that will actually help end veteran suicide and make our communities safer.”
The VA said it made the decision after consultation with the Justice Department.
“It is both unlawful and unacceptable for veterans who serve our country to have their constitutional rights threatened,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Bondi said she is directing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to review its regulations and propose necessary changes to ensure that gun ownership rights of veterans are upheld.
Doug Collins, the VA secretary, said it was unfair for veterans who required outside assistance with their personal budgets to lose their gun rights.
“Many Americans struggle with managing finances,” Collins said.
The Justice Department concluded that the VA decision aligns with the Gun Control Act, the nation’s primary law for regulating the commercial firearms industry. The federal law bans felons, illegal drug users and persons determined by the courts to be “mentally defective” from owning firearms.
Finnell said his organization has worked for years to restore the gun rights of veterans who require money managers to handle their VA benefits.
“Just because a veteran needs help with managing money does not mean they are mentally defective,” Finnell said.
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