Recently, President Obama’s administration is pushing for a new reform to prevent Social Security recipients from being able to purchase a gun. If these people are unable to manage their own affairs due to “marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease”, then they are at risk of being targeted by this new law. If this law becomes enacted, then about 4.2 million adults are at risk of losing their right to own a gun.
The goal of the reform is to prevent people with depreciating mental capacity from getting access to firearms. According to the Obama Administration these people could possibly cause harm to themselves and others. Personally, I believe that it is not the government’s job to determine when my grandpa is too old to have a gun. It should be up to the relatives to decide whether or not their family member is at risk of harming themselves or another person in the presence of a firearm. Also, this proposal has gotten a lot of heat from people because it is seen as a violation of the second amendment. I agree that someone with a mental illness should not have access to a weapon. Mental illnesses already show up on a person’s record when a background check is conducted.
Alex Stojanoff says
You did a grey job arguing both sides of the issue. I agree with your opinion and this is a very interesting topic. Great post!
Nicholas Ciatto says
I agree with your opinion that it is not up to the government to decide when someone isn’t mentally capable to hold a firearm. I think this is just a way for the government to gradually try to control guns and not allow certain people to have them.
Zach Robinson says
I have not seen this story yet, so its great to read something new. I like how your opinion is clear, though you still make an effort to shed light on both sides of the argument.
Matt Blevins says
Good job being informative and understanding on both sides of the issue. The proposal is a very interesting idea, and the picture you included was very interesting as well.