Sullivan Votes to Halt Rule Denying Second Amendment Rights to Citizens with Disabilities

WASHINGTON, DC--Today Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) voted to rescind an Obama administration rule that requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System anyone who receives benefits for certain disabilities and who the SSA believes needs a representative payee to help manage these benefits. Under the rule – which was issued during President Obama’s final days in office – some Social Security recipients face the loss of their Second Amendment rights without notice or due process. 

“The Obama administration’s rule, promulgated during the last days of the administration, unlawfully strips away Second Amendment rights, without due process, from law-abiding citizens,” Senator Sullivan said. “The rule also shamefully and unfairly stigmatizes certain disabilities, which is why it is opposed by a broad coalition of mental health advocates. We need to combat gun violence by putting more police on the streets and increasing prosecutions and penalties for gun violence. But we cannot deny constitutional rights to law-abiding Americans with disabilities.” 

The rule was opposed by numerous disability-rights groups, including the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery, the American Association of People with Disabilities, and the National Council on Disability — the non-partisan, independent federal agency charged with advising the president and Congress on policies that affect people with disabilities. It was also opposed by the ACLU.  

###

• Print
• Email
• Tweet