On March 16, 2017, the House passed H.R. Background

Under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, 1993 (Brady Act; P.L. 103-159 ), Congress required the Attorney General to establish a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) within five years of enactment. Since 1998, the VA has been providing records to the FBI for inclusion in the NICS Index on beneficiaries for whom a fiduciary (a person selected to manage veteran's benefits) has been appointed by the VA on his or her behalf, because the appointment of a fiduciary is based on a VA determination that the beneficiary is "mentally incompetent" under veterans law. Pursuant to the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NIAA; P.L. 110-180 ), the VA has been required to notify beneficiaries of the ramifications of mental incompetency determinations and a potential loss of their gun rights. The act also required the VA to provide those beneficiaries with an avenue of administrative relief, by which they could appeal such determinations and have their rights restored. 114-255 ), Congress included provisions that codified certain VA procedures related to mental incompetency determinations and potential loss of gun rights. Since 2008, however, the legislative history shows that some Members of Congress have viewed the VA procedures as inadequate. 1181 were reported from committee, passed either the House or Senate, or both. In the 114 th Congress, related amendments were considered, but not passed, on the Senate floor in the wake of mass shootings in December 2015 in San Bernardino, CA, and in June 2016 in Orlando, FL. In the 115 th Congress, a measure was passed that vacated a final rule issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that would have established parallel but different procedures for NICS referrals on Social Security disability programs beneficiaries ( P.L. 1181 , the VA would be prohibited from determining any beneficiary for whom a fiduciary is appointed as "adjudicated as a mental defective" for the purposes of gun control, because he or she lacks the mental capacity to contract or handle his or her own affairs, unless a magistrate or judicial authority also rules that the beneficiary is a danger to himself or herself or others. 1181 maintain that the existing VA benefit claims and disability rating procedures are not substantive enough on their own to justify the taking of a constitutionally enumerated right like the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment. Opponents of H.R. 1181 counter that the VA has complied with the Brady Act and NIAA and that public safety is enhanced by its NICS referrals to the FBI. Opponents note that Congress seconded the VA procedures by codifying them in P.L. They contend that the VA procedures act to protect VA beneficiaries from the harm that might result if they acquired firearms and used them improperly due to reasons possibly related to their mental incompetency. Supporters of H.R. 1181 set for SSA and any other federal agencies that provide disability benefits? Federal agencies had contributed 171,083 such records to the NICS index, of which the VA had contributed 167,815 (98.1%), as of December 31, 2016. In addition, the VA is to refer the name of any beneficiary determined to be incompetent to the FBI for inclusion in the NICS. P.L. 114-255 Provision

In December 2016, Congress included a provision in the 21 st Century Cures Act that codified elements of the VA's implementation of NIAA. 115-8 ). Legislative History 110th-113th Congresses

Proposals similar to H.R. Under H.R.
On March 16, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act (H.R. 1181) by a roll call vote (240-175). Under H.R. 1181, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) would be prohibited from determining any beneficiary for whom a fiduciary is appointed, because he or she "lacks the capacity to contract or handle his or her own affairs," as "adjudicated as a mental defective" for the purposes of gun control, unless a magistrate or judicial authority also rules that the beneficiary is a danger to himself or herself or others.
Pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, 1993 (Brady Act; P.L. 103-159), since 1998, the VA has provided records on beneficiaries for whom a fiduciary has been appointed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Pursuant to the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NIAA; P.L. 110-180), the VA was required to notify beneficiaries of the ramifications of mental incompetency determinations and a potential loss of their gun rights, as well as provide those beneficiaries with an avenue of administrative relief, by which they could appeal such determinations and have their rights restored. In the 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255), Congress included a provision that codified certain VA procedures related to mental incompetency determinations and potential loss of gun rights.
Since 2008, however, the legislative history also shows that some Members of Congress have viewed those VA procedures, even after the implementation of NIAA provisions, as inadequate. From the 110th through the 113th Congresses, proposals similar to H.R. 1181 were reported from committee, passed either the House or Senate, or both. In the 114th Congress, related amendments were considered, but not passed, on the Senate floor in the wake of mass shooting incidents in December 2015 in San Bernardino, CA, and in June 2016 in Orlando, FL. In the 115th Congress, moreover, a measure was passed that vacated a final rule issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in December 2016 that would have established parallel but different procedures for Social Security disability programs and NICS referrals (P.L. 115-8). Under the vacated rule, SSA disability beneficiaries who were appointed a "representative payee" to handle their day-to-day affairs and whose disability could be tied to a mental impairment would have been referred to the FBI for inclusion in NICS.
According to the FBI, as of December 31, 2016, federal departments and agencies had contributed 173,083 records in the NICS index "adjudicated mental health" file, of which the VA contributed 167,815 (98.1%). Supporters of H.R. 1181 view the existing VA procedures as an incongruity in the law. They ask why the VA is the only federal department or agency that has made substantial numbers of NICS referrals to the FBI based on mental incompetency determinations, even though other federal agencies that provide similar disability and income security benefits have not done so. In their opinion, this seeming incongruity calls into question whether the VA benefit claims and disability rating procedures are substantive enough on their own to justify the taking of a constitutionally enumerated right like the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment. Opponents of H.R. 1181 contend that the VA has complied with the Brady Act and NIAA and that public safety is enhanced by its NICS referrals to the FBI. They contend further that the VA procedures act to protect VA beneficiaries from the harm that might result if they acquired firearms and used them improperly due to reasons possibly related to their mental incompetency. In their view, moreover, Congress seconded the VA procedures by codifying them in P.L. 114-255.