WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate has approved an amendment patterned after legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12) to protect veterans’ Second Amendment rights. Bost, the chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, introduced legislation earlier this year that would end the Department of Veterans Affairs’ practice of automatically submitting veterans’ names for background checks when they need help managing their finances.
“Until now, a veteran who needed help managing their finances wouldn’t be able to go deer hunting because their name would have been submitted for a government-run background check that restricted their Second Amendment rights without due process,” said Bost. “It’s taken Congress over 30 years to right this wrong. I appreciate the bipartisan work the Senate has done on this issue, and in partnership with the House, I look forward to it being enacted in the final version of this year’s veterans appropriations bill.”
The House previously approved an amendment sponsored by Bost to stop the automatic referrals without a court’s order. Bost’s effort has the support of the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, and the American Legion.