VA Backs Down on Threat to Take Idaho Veteran’s Guns

Full story at link. Looks like some will not go along with the new VA over-reach.

www.thenewamerican.com...

When Idaho State Representative Heather Scott learned that the Veterans Administration (VA) was about to descend on a veteran living in her district and confiscate his firearms, she enlisted the power of the Internet. Writing on her Facebook page last Thursday, she announced,

Time to Stand against Gun Confiscation in North Idaho!

Based on an assessment of a letter I received, I believe that the Department of Veterans Affairs is coming to a veteran’s home in Priest River today to check for and confiscate his guns based on nothing more than a stroke which has left him with some mild physical impairment.

If you feel, as I do, that our veterans should not be treated like 3rd class citizens or common criminals, please join me between 9am and noon at the Congregational Church parking lot on HWY 2 to stand with this Veteran and show that the citizens of Bonner & Boundary County will stand firm on this issue.

By noon more than a dozen of Priest Lake, Idaho’s 1,700 residents walked over to veteran John Arnold’s home and waited for the officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs to show up. Those in the crowd besides Representative Scott included Representative Matt Shea from just over the border in Washington State and Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler.

When the VA official arrived, Sheriff Wheeler confronted him, telling him that he would stop any inspection or attempt to confiscate Arnold’s firearms. He told the press:

I took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and uphold the laws of Idaho. This seemed appropriate to show my support. I was going to make sure Mr. Arnold’s rights weren’t going to be breached.

In fact, the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action has stated,

The Department of Veterans Affais overreaching policies have resulted in the names of well over 100,000 veterans and dependents on the FBI's National Instance Criminal Backgound Check System as prohibited from possessing firearms.

The NRA and its allies have attempted to push through the “Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act,” which would require the VA to follow the Fourth Amendment's due process.

a reply to: infolurker

Kudos to Rep. Heather Scott and Sheriff Wheeler in upholding a veteran's rights. The questions I'd like to see answered which triggered this event are: was he deemed a danger to self or others; what criteria was employed, and who specifically took it upon themselves to enter and seize private property from a past-serving citizen?

Perhaps the VA should spend more time and effort in the aid and rehabilitation of those injured in the line of duty, a job that has been deemed as ineffectual and bureaucracy bloated. I hope the next POTUS will make it a priority to restructure and infuse the VA's hierarchy with people whose function is to enhance the organization, without overstepping their power.

Thank you for making this thread, people need to be aware of these types of events so the masses can speak up!!!!

A free nation is built upon the right to bear arms.....

a reply to: infolurker

I have had about enough of this bs, since my service began in 99 and I seperated in 05 after serving for 6 years, I have watched nonstop as my battle buddies get treated worse and worse.

Now we are all deemed potential threats by DHS , and the VA goes out of its way to strip them of guaranteed rights, they served to protect.

Maybe I should contact some of the very popular YouTube vets and see if we can't make a giant stink.

Matt best, or ranger up or grunt style, maybe even action figure therapy.

They have been working together a lot lately.

Maybe get a joint venture going to put a stop to this bs once and for all.

yeah, typical VA, too busy persecuting vets to actually spend time treating them.in this day anyone who volunteers to join the military is a fool. the va isn`t going to take care of you.

I agree, people need to be aware of this story. If the VA were to continue and be allowed to influence these decisions where will it end, such as what were seeing with this case where the man's condition wasn't very enough to warrant confiscation.

This so called "solution/common ground/compromise" to the gun debate is actually far worse than gun control.

A gun law can take away one of your rights. Landing on a crazy list can take away ALL your rights.

Creating a pre-crime criteria doesn't solve anything.

a reply to: Tardacus
You don't volunteer to have the VA take care of you.

Edit: I agree the VA is a joke and they aren't going to take care of you. What I don't understand is how you can call our military volunteers, however naive they are, fools? I was one once, and did nothing heroic, just my time. I didn't join to save the world or die for my country, but I did fulfill my promise. Does that make me a fool? What I learned in the military opened doors to incredible opportunity for me.

What i hate about the military ( in Europe) is that they use and use and use till there is nothing left then dump the person away. I remember a story told to me about one solider who served 6 years, when he left he could not find a job, so he put in his CV 6 years in jail for non violent crimes, he got invited to more job interviews. I dont know if he got a job but it seems employers were more interested in a criminal than a solider.