Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. CRANK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for yielding to me.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act. I am proud to represent El Paso County and the 100,000 veterans and Active-Duty servicemembers who live there. These heroes committed their lives in service to the Nation and in protection of our Constitution. They served with the promise that when their military career ended, the VA would be there to provide the benefits they earned and to advocate for their best interests. Unfortunately, as we all know, too often, the VA fails in this mission.
For 30 years, veterans have had their Second Amendment rights stripped by the VA simply for the crime of receiving help managing their benefits. For the past three decades, if the VA assigned a veteran a fiduciary, a benefit they have rightfully earned, they would automatically report that veteran to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System as a prohibited person.
This unconstitutional practice blacklisted over a quarter million veterans from the right to purchase or possess a firearm. This malicious VA rule treats our veterans as second-class citizens and deters our heroes from seeking the care they earned in service to their Nation out of fear their Second Amendment rights will be taken away.
What would my colleagues on the other side, who so flippantly say veterans can be denied their Second Amendment rights, what would they say if we were somehow denying their First Amendment rights: their right to free speech, their right to religion, or their right to peaceably assemble? They wouldn't stand for it.
They will only stand for it because it denies a right that they disagree with. That is not what the Constitution is about.
I thank Chairman Bost for introducing this important legislation and to finally bring an end to this practice. I was proud to cosponsor it.
I am thankful that the Trump administration has already acted to right this wrong through agency directive.
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