How would you feel if you received a
letter from the U.S. Government informing you that because of a physical
or mental condition that the government says you have it is proposing
to rule that you are incompetent to handle your own financial affairs?
Suppose that letter also stated that the government is going to appoint a
stranger to handle your affairs for you at your expense?
That would
certainly be scary enough but it gets worse.
What if that letter also stated: “A
determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing,
possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you
knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined,
imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention
Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code
924(a)(2).”?
That makes is sound like something right
from a documentary on a tyrannical dictatorship somewhere in the world.
Yet, as I write this I have a copy of such a letter right in front of
me. It is being sent by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to
hundreds, perhaps thousands, of America’s heroes. In my capacity as
Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation (USJF) I have
been contacted by some of these veterans and the stories I am getting
are appalling.
The letter provides no specifics on the
reasons for the proposed finding of incompetency; just that is based on a
determination by someone in the VA. In every state in the United States
no one can be declared incompetent to administer their own affairs
without due process of law and that usually requires a judicial hearing
with evidence being offered to prove to a judge that the person is
indeed incompetent. This is a requirement of the Fifth Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution that states that no person shall “…be deprived of
life, liberty, or property without due process of law…”.
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