Fed assails seniors' right to bear arms: Column Sly Obama executive order would deprive 4.2 million social security recipients of Second Amendment rights.

Chris Cox | USA TODAY

Ten years ago, a college librarian in Texas was forced to retire because she was suffering from severe asthma, which required oxygen therapy. She went on disability and appointed her husband, Richard Woodman, of Weatherford Texas, to be her representative payee so he could handle their financial affairs. In his words, "she did not wish to have the worry." Woodman said his wife had never been mentally unstable and, after years of successful treatment, her asthma improved. Now, however, due to a new gun control proposal from the Obama administration, she will lose her constitutional right to own a firearm.

Sound far-fetched? It's not. It’s simply the latest in an ongoing series of attempts by President Obama to restrict gun ownership in the United States. This time, he's targeting older people and those with disabilities. If Obama’s plan is implemented, 4.2 million social security beneficiaries will automatically lose their Second Amendment rights, which would represent the biggest gun grab in American history. No due process. No court adjudication or finding of dangerousness. With the click of a button by a faceless bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., 4.2 million people would be classified as “prohibited persons” for no legitimate reason.

On July 18, news broke that the Social Security Administration (SSA), in response to a presidential memorandum, is developing a system to report the names of recipients who receive their benefits through a "representative payee" to the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS), which would prohibit them for purchasing or possessing firearms. We've been overwhelmed with calls ever since, including a call from the Texas librarian's husband. Woodman had one question for us: "What are you doing about this?"

Our answer: Everything we can.

Needing some help to manage your finances should not be grounds for losing a fundamental constitutional right. Having a disability does not make you a threat to society, nor does aging make one mentally unstable. But not according to the Obama administration, which is moving to strip millions of people of a fundamental right — without due process and in one fell swoop. Unsurprisingly, it was done behind closed doors. Obama issued the directive in 2013, and the program has been in development ever since.

With that kind of secrecy and that kind of scope, there’s no reason to believe it will stop at the SSA. Obama and his bureaucrats have consistently shown their willingness to restrict the rights of Americans by executive fiat. The Bureau of Veterans Affairs, for example, has already adopted a similar policy — as a result, about 177,000 veterans with a fiduciary were reported to the NICS, denying brave men and women a basic American freedom they served to protect.

This issue goes straight to the fundamental tenets of our democracy. Our constitution was created to prevent government from taking fundamental rights away from millions of people without due process of law. In this instance, the government is deciding to eliminate necessary tools of self-defense from those who need it most — older Americans and folks with disabilities.

People from across the political spectrum have spoken out in opposition. The Los Angeles Times, which broke the story, quoted a Yale psychiatrist, Dr. Marc Rosen, who studies how veterans with mental health problems manage their money. In his words, "Someone can be incapable of managing their funds but not be dangerous, violent or unsafe," he said. "They are very different determinations."

The National Council on Disability weighed in with a letter to Vice President Biden, "Whatever merits such a proposal might seem to present, such benefits are outweighed by the inaccurate and discriminatory inference that would result: equating the need for assistance in managing one's finances with a presumption of incapacity in other areas of life."

Texas Congressman Sam Johnson and other congressional Republicans, in a letter to the SSA said, "Millions of responsible seniors and people with disabilities rely on a representative payee. Simply using this system does not mean beneficiaries are a risk to themselves or others."

All Americans should be outraged at this government overreach. Rest assured that the National Rifle Association will fight this by any means necessary. We've already called on the president to immediately suspend this activity, and if he doesn't do so voluntarily, we've called on the Congress to stop him from implementing this outrageous gun control scheme. Already, members of Congress have called on the SSA to stop the development of this program and Johnson on Wednesday introduced legislation that would prevent the SSA from putting their plan into action. The The Social Security Beneficiary 2nd Amendment Rights Protection Act, would ensure Americans don’t have to choose between the benefits to which they are legally entitled and their Second Amendment rights.

Hopefully soon, we’ll be able to call Richard Woodman back and report that this outrageous dismantling of constitutional freedoms has been stopped in its tracks.

Chris Cox is the Executive Director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action.

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