No doubt, you’ve gotten an email or seen the story about the VA sending a letter to a veteran informing him that his right to own weapons may be affected. In a story on Red Flag News by Constitutional Attorney Michael Connelly, he shares the letter and mentions that he’s heard many stories about this topic. You can see the letter here.
This story has been shared over and over again all over the place. I’ve gotten emails, tweets, and Facebook messages asking about it. They all ask me what I think about it or whether it’s true. My answer is yes and no.
I have no doubt that the letter was probably sent to a veteran. We may never know who this veteran is or why he was sent the letter. What I can tell you is that, without a doubt, there are just some veterans who should never had access to a weapon.
We’ve all seen them on sidewalks yelling at street lights or arguing with a tree. In fact, some veterans were kicked out of the military because of the mental incapacity.
This past weekend, I attended the local Day of Resistance rally. This topic came up often. In fact, some of the speakers mentioned it. What’s interesting is that everyone seems to know someone else that received a letter. The problem is that no one has seen these papers. Everyone has heard about them or, as is the case with Michael Connelly, heard about many of them.
Think about this for a bit – wouldn’t you think that if these were going out to so many troops and veterans we’d see more than just one example online? Instead, the version shared on Red Flag News has been downloaded and shared on many different websites. Conspiracy nuts have seized on this and spread more doubt. For the past few days, I’ve searched in vain for more examples.
I’m not saying the letter isn’t authentic or that they haven’t even been given to “hundreds of veterans.” In the context of the fact that there are literally millions of veterans in the country, it’s not a far stretch to believe that there are hundreds such letters. Since the RFN story didn’t include the name or even the disability of the individual, it’s hard to intelligently argue one way or the other about this topic.
What I would caution people who come in contact with this story to do is to reserve judgment. The simple fact is that some people ARE incapable of managing their own affairs. I think the only legitimate question with regard to this issue is what the criteria are for determining that someone is incapable of managing their own affairs.
As a Constitution lover, my concern is whether or not this determination is made with due process. It’s important that we don’t have bureaucrats arbitrarily making these decisions for any reason. If such a determination is going to affect an American’s right to keep and bear arms he deserves a right to due process and the determination of a court. I’m willing to bet that these letters didn’t just begin when Obama became the president.
In my unofficially expert opinion, this isn’t anything to be concerned about.
