by Joseph P. Tartaro | Executive Editor
As promised, President Donald Trump signed legislation which reversed an Obama executive order to the Social Security Administration (SSA) to place senior citizens on that would have placed the names of those with a conservator on the NICS no sale list.
Those seniors, some congressional leaders and many organizations concerned about the right of senior citizens applauded Trump’s action.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) on Feb. 28 praised the president Trump for signing into law H.J. Res. 40 that ends an Obama-era regulation that discriminates against certain Social Security beneficiaries who need help managing their benefits.
Chairman Brady said:
“By signing this resolution into law, President Trump took another important step toward reversing years of harmful executive overreach under the Obama Administration. The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Alliance for Mental Illness, the National Rifle Association, and dozens of other groups have come out in strong support for this law because it prevents the Social Security Administration from denying certain law-abiding Americans their 2nd Amendment rights without due process. SSA should not be the arbiters of constitutional rights; it should be fulfilling its mission to serve all beneficiaries. I’m grateful for Chairman Johnson’s and Rep. Abraham’s leadership on this issue and I look forward to our continued efforts to hold the SSA accountable.”
Chairman Johnson said:
“Today is a good day for the Social Security beneficiaries whose Constitutional rights were threatened by the Obama Administration’s discriminatory regulation. By signing my resolution into law, President Trump helped ensure that Social Security beneficiaries’ rights to bear arms and due process under the law are protected and preserved. As I’ve said before, just because someone has a disability does not mean they’re a threat to society, and needing help to manage your benefits does not make you dangerous. Social Security needs to focus on its job—making sure Americans receive the benefits they’ve earned—and today’s action by President Trump lets them do just that.”
Two ACLU staffers had written an Op-Ed column published in USA Today in support of the repeal measure.
This month, Congress repealed a rule that would have registered thousands of Social Security recipients with mental disabilities, who have others manage their benefits, into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to prevent them from owning firearms.
“The American Civil Liberties Union does not oppose gun control laws. As an organization dedicated to defending all constitutional rights, we believe the Second Amendment allows reasonable restrictions to promote public safety.
But gun control laws, like any law, should be fair, effective and not based on prejudice or stereotype. This rule met none of those criteria, wrote Vania Leveille, ACLU’s senior legislative counsel and Susan Mizner, disability counsel.
“Adding more innocent Americans to a national database because of a mental disability is a disturbing trend.
“This is about more than guns. Adding more innocent Americans to the National Instant Criminal Background database because of a mental disability is a disturbing trend — one that could be applied to voting, parenting or other rights dearer than gun ownership. We opposed it because it would do little to stem gun violence but do much to harm our civil rights.”
Twenty-three other organizations concerned about the civil rights of the aged had also supported the repeal measure.
