Chairman Moran Statement on VA’s Announcement to Protect Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (Kan.) - chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs - released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it would no longer report veterans who are appointed a fiduciary by VA to help manage their financial decisions and VA benefits to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS):

"No veteran should be penalized or stripped of their right to legally purchase and own a firearm without due process simply because they sought assistance from VA regarding their finances or earned benefits. In reversing this practice, VA is righting this wrong for veterans in Kansas and across the country who should be able to receive the necessary and often critical help they need to manage their benefits, without jeopardizing their constitutional rights. Congress should pass the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act to make certain this breach of due process cannot occur again under any administration."

Previously, when VA appointed a fiduciary to a veteran who needed assistance managing their finances and VA benefits, VA reported that veteran to the FBI's NICS list, effectively stripping them of their Second Amendment right to legally purchase and own a firearm, without any findings by a court of law that the veteran may be a danger to themselves or others. Last year, Sen. Moran and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced legislation to permanently put an end to these due process violations. Since 2024, they have successfully secured amendments to provide due process protections in annual appropriations bills.

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