The House of Representatives voted this week to overturn a rule created by the Obama administration to keep firearms out of the hands of some mentally ill individuals. The measure would have required the Social Security Administration to send records of beneficiaries with severe mental disabilities to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Those that were found to be mentally incapable of managing their own financial affairs, around 75,000 people in total, would subsequently be blocked from purchasing firearms.
The National Rifle Association pushed to repeal the rule, and Republicans jumped to do their bidding, arguing that the rule infringed on Second Amendment rights.
"This is a slap in the face for those in the disabled community because it paints all those who suffer from mental disorders with the same broad brush," Republican House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte said. "It assumes that simply because an individual suffers from a mental condition, that that individual is unfit to exercise his or her Second Amendment rights."
The rule, however, only applies to people that have been judged unfit to handle their own affairs, like those suffering from schizophrenia, not every person suffering from any mental disorder.
"The House charged ahead with an extreme, hastily written, one-sided measure that would make the American people less safe," Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Esty, said.
Congress has been busy gutting regulations that the Obama administration put in place during the last six months, using the Congressional Review Act. This law allows the Senate to overturn a rule through a simple majority vote, which means that Senate Democrats are powerless to prevent the Republican majority for repealing these regulations.
