By: Teresa Mull

Now for some good news in the gun world: Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana has introduced the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act to safeguard some of the freedoms our men and women in uniform fight to preserve.

“Kennedy’s bill would prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from transmitting a veteran’s personal information to NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) unless a relevant judicial authority rules that the beneficiary is a danger to himself or others,” explains a press release.

The language of the bill states:

‘‘The Secretary may not transmit to any entity in the Department of Justice, for use by the national instant criminal background check system established under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act 17 (34 U.S.C. 40901), personally identifiable information of a beneficiary, solely on the basis of a determination by the Secretary to pay benefits to a fiduciary for the use and benefit of the beneficiary under section 5502 of this title, without the order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such beneficiary is a danger to themselves or others.’”

“Every veteran who bravely serves our country has earned VA benefits, and it’s wrong for the government to punish veterans who get a helping hand to manage those benefits,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Veterans who sacrificed to defend our Constitution shouldn’t see their own rights rest on the judgment of unelected bureaucrats—but right now, they do. The Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act will prevent government workers from unduly stripping veterans of their right to bear arms.”

Teresa Mull ([email protected]) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.

Photo credit: By Tammy Anthony Baker from Louisiana – Senator John Kennedy, Louisiana, Republican, LAGOP GOTVR Dec2016 164, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54035997