House passes provision preventing the VA from submitting records of at-risk veterans to the background check system

WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, denounces the inclusion of language in the House Fiscal Year 2027 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which will put veterans’ lives at risk. 

The language enables veterans who have been deemed “mentally incompetent” by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and who have been assigned a fiduciary, to purchase a firearm by withholding this information from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Previously, veterans with this designation, who are often at elevated risk of suicide, had their names submitted to NICS to prevent them from purchasing firearms to protect themselves and others from gun violence. 

According to the latest National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report from the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 17 veterans died by suicide each day in 2023. 

“At a time when veterans need more resources and stability, lawmakers should not advance policies that put them at greater risk. GIFFORDS will continue fighting to remove this harmful language from future funding bills in order to protect veterans and public safety,” said GIFFORDS Vice President of Government and Political Affairs Vanessa Gonzalez.