WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today applauded the Senate’s passage of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to overturn the Social Security Administration’s anti-Second Amendment rule issued in the final days of the Obama Administration.
The rule requires individuals who receive Social Security disability benefits for a mental health related reason, including depression or an eating disorder, and who require a representative payee to assist in managing their finances, to be reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and lose their constitutionally protected Second Amendment rights without due process.
“Overturning this anti-Second Amendment rule is the right step. The rule is overly broad, has no impact on existing gun-safety laws, and unfairly advances misguided stereotypes about individuals with disabilities. I have always fought to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans, and I will not support attempts to revoke someone’s constitutionally protected right without due process,” said Senator Capito.
The CRA, which passed the Senate on a 57-43 vote, is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) because of the rule’s violation of due process, the National Rifle Association because of its impact on Second Amendment rights, and various disability groups including the National Council on Disability, who wrote that the rule “stigmatizes a group of people who are not likely to perpetuate the kind of violence the rule hopes to address.”
The CRA passed the House of Representatives on February 2, 2017 and now heads to the president to be signed into law.
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