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Feinstein: All Veterans Could Have PTSD & Must Be Prohibited From Gun Ownership
The Truth Behind The News
Susanne Posel
Occupy Corporatism
March 11, 2013
Last week, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Senator Dianne Feinstein commented on a proposal entered into her gun control legislation, the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013”.
Feinstein said that she did not agree with an exemption for US veterans regarding access to guns. Because US veterans may have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or have incurred a traumatic brain injury (TBI), they could be mentally ill and should be prohibited from being able to purchase a semiautomatic gun.
The direct comment Feinstein said: “The problem with expanding this is that, you know, with the advent of PTSD, which I think is a new phenomenon as a product of the Iraq War, it’s not clear how the seller or transferrer of a firearm covered by this bill would verify that an individual was a member, or a veteran, and that there was no impairment of that individual with respect to having a weapon like this.”
She also referred to the right to “legally hunt humans” and that a ban on high capacity magazines would give “a deranged individual [time] to pause and reload.”
Feinstein said: “The time has come, America, to step up and ban these weapons. The other very important part of this bill is to ban large capacity ammunition feeding devices, those that hold more than 10 rounds. We have federal regulations and state laws that prohibit hunting ducks with more than three rounds. And yet it’s legal to hunt humans with 15-round, 30-round, even 150-round magazines. Limiting magazine capacity is critical because it is when a criminal, a drug dealer, a deranged individual has to pause to change magazines and reload that the police or brave bystanders have the opportunity to take that individual down.”
Last month Feinstein formally introduced to the public her gun control bill that she has “been working with my staff for over a year on legislation” based on “in-depth research” into gun-related violence; such as viewing pictures of guns from 1993 to 2012 to make comparisons.
The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 (as it is being called) prohibits the sale, transfer, importation and manufacture of those firearms listed in the bill.
By describing semiautomatic guns as “dangerous military-style assault weapons”, Feinstein made her stance clear. She stated: “Getting this bill signed into law will be an uphill battle, and I recognize that — but it’s a battle worth having.”
The point of this legislation is to “dry up the supply of these weapons over time. Therefore, there is no sunset on this bill.”
Feinstein went on to say that the “massacres don’t seem to stop” – referencing recent tragedies such as Columbine, Virginia Tech, the Batman shooting and Sandy Hook. She continued: “We should be outraged at how easy it is” for people to obtain guns.
Prior to this unveiling, The National Rifle Association (NRA) says they have obtained a draft of Feinstein’s bill that seeks to redefine what is an “assault weapon” to include a more encompassing amount of guns. There would also be an initiative of forcing Americans to register their guns with the federal government under the National Firearms Act (NFA).
This would give the federal government authority to confiscate weapons that were identified in violent acts.
Feinstein hopes to:
• Restrict the modifications to firearms available to citizens
• Classify specific modifications as illegal
• Restricting the acquisition of rocket launchers
With the redefining of assault weapons, semi-automatic, centerfire, rimfire rifles will be illegal; as well as the M1 Carbine and Ruger Mini-14. No more than 10 round magazines will be available.
The NFA will collect taxes of an estimated $200 per gun purchased as well as the owner file their fingerprints, photograph, address and obtain permission before taking the gun across state lines.
Guns could not be sold privately or passed down to heirs. The owner would relinquish their gun to the US government upon death.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have ramped up their motion toward strengthening legislation toward an all-encompassing assault weapons ban.
Senators Chuck Schumer and Tom Coburn have agreed upon a proposal for a government-controlled universal background check system on firearms purchases. The stalemate on the negotiations table has been permanent record keeping becoming part of the background checks.
In December of 2012, before President Obama signed the 2013 fiscal Year National Defenses Authorization Act (NDAA), the Senate, as part of a defense cuts proposal is an amendment to curb the rights of US veterans to access guns. Senator Tom Coburn would like for the veterans deemed “mentally incompetent” to have the Department of Veterans Affairs decide that they would have their 2nd Amendment rights revoked and not be able to purchase or possess firearms.
Coburn said to the Senate: “We’re not asking for anything big. We’re just saying that if you’re going to take away the Second Amendment rights … they ought to have it adjudicated, rather than mandated by someone who’s unqualified to state that they should lose their rights.”
The Coburn amendment #3109 states that in order “to protect the Second Amendment rights of veterans” they must be deemed mentally competent so they may retain their right to bear arms.
According to Chapter 55, Title 38 of the US Code (Section 5503): “In any case arising out of the administration by the Secretary of laws and benefits under this title, a person who is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness shall not be considered adjudicated as a mental defective under subsection (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18 without the order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to himself or herself or others.”
This amendment is part of a package of additions to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Coburn said to the Senate: “We’re not asking for anything big. We’re just saying that if you’re going to take away the Second Amendment rights — they ought to have it adjudicated, rather than mandated by someone who’s unqualified to state that they should lose their rights.”
During a private “roundtable” discussion at Fort Bliss in Texas, Obama met with members of the military and addressed active duty troops. The Obama administration’s focus is on identifying and “providing additional support” to soldiers who have been diagnosed with “post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries (TBI)”.
Previously, the DoD have come out publicly to state that US veterans suffering from TBI and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are considered potentially violent and dangerous.
Doctors for the DoD claim CTE is an incurable disease soldiers may develop after having injured their brain in battle. CTE is explained as causing large bursts of anger and depression while having their vital motor skills and memory impacted; as well as being degenerative of whose effects can manifest themselves days, months or years after the initial trauma.
The DoD is tracking soldiers diagnosed with TBI/CTE because, according to the US government agency, they may display personality changes that could come on without warning and effect their ability to acclimate back into American society.
The goal of the Obama administration is to devise a “comprehensive longitudinal mental health study with an emphasis on PTSD, TBI, and related injuries” to identify mental health issues in veterans and enroll veterans in a long-term plan coordinated with the Department of Veteran Affairs which will be directed by the DoD.
2013-04-20 13:00:12
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