Defending Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights Act
The Defending Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights Act would bar the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from sending personally identifiable information about veterans and other VA beneficiaries to the Department of Justice for use in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) if the transmission would be based solely on a VA determination that the person has a service-connected disability. In other words, data about veterans with service-connected disabilities could not be shared with DOJ to inform background checks when that sole basis is the SCD finding. The prohibition does not appear to bar data sharing if there are additional, non-SCD grounds for transmitting the information. The bill is introduced (sponsored by Representative Roy) and is not yet enacted.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition: VA may not transmit to DOJ, for use by NICS, personally identifiable information about veterans and other beneficiaries if the sole basis is a VA service-connected disability determination.
- 2Scope: Applies to information about veterans and “other beneficiaries” whose sharing would be based only on a service-connected disability determination.
- 3Data-sharing limitation: Aims to reduce or block the flow of VA data into NICS when the trigger is solely an SCD finding.
- 4Exceptions possibility: If there are additional bases beyond the SCD determination, the transmission could still occur under the bill’s language.
- 5Purpose and framing: Titled the “Defending Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights Act,” signaling an intent to protect veterans’ gun rights by limiting federal background-check data sharing tied solely to SCD status.