Gun Control and Social Security Disability "Mental Defectives" Revisited

As I predicted in my in my January 25, 2017 blog entry, President Donald Trump signed off on the repeal of former President Barack Obama's gun control initiative last February 28, 2017. The House of Representatives was first to act, voting 235-180 earlier in the month on the measure, with the Senate following suit a short time later 57-43. Both votes were largely along party lines.

Mental Defectives Allowed to Purchase Firearms

What this means is that no longer will the order's unfortunately-termed "mental defectives," among other groups cited, be subjected to scrutiny when they attempt to purchase firearms by way of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NIAA) and National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Under the former rule, they could have been denied doing so, but now they no longer will be, at least through President Obama's executive order.

"Would  Make the American People Less Safe"

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer weighed in on the repeal, stating that it was "outrageous" that the Republican-controlled legislature "would pass a bill to weaken the FBI's firearms and explosives background-check system." Many of his Democratic colleagues echoed his sentiment. Representative Elizabeth Esty proclaimed that "the House charged ahead with an extreme, hastily written, one-sided measure that would make the American people less safe."

"Violates Their Constitutional Rights"

Not surprisingly, their Republican counterparts hailed the event, believing that the measure was simultaneously overly broad and a power grab, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell leading the pack stating that "the regulation is simply bad policy, places an unfair stigma on those with disabilities and violates their constitutional rights."

There are a number of additional regulations the current administration is eyeing to undo or, at least water down, many regulations including some related to the environment, earmarks, etc. The big one, of course, is the revision or elimination altogether of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as Obamacare, which apparently is proving to be a tougher nut to crack than many conservatives expected.