Dear Congress: Please Do NOT Give Weapons To Depressed Veterans (VIDEO)

General David Petraeus knows a lot about life in the military. The General served for 37 years in the U.S. Army. He served for a year as the director of the CIA.

The General understands the pressures of combat and the resulting mental health issues that face so many soldiers.

General Petraeus is part of a group that calls itself the “Veterans Coalition for Common Sense.” The group has written a letter to Congress to express their very deep concern about a piece of legislation that they feel is irresponsible and very dangerous.

Believe it or not, there is a bill before Congress, ironically named the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act. The bill would stop the VA from reporting the names of mentally ill veterans to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Why?

So the government couldn’t stop those mentally ill veterans from getting guns.

This is, without any doubt, complete insanity.

General Petraeus knows it.

The letter that Petraeus and other military leaders signed read, in part:

“The bill you are debating comes at a time when an average of 20 veterans commit suicide each day, two-thirds of whom do so by using a firearm.”

These military leaders recognize the complete immorality of providing guns to men and women who are struggling with PTSD, with depression, with paranoia. They realize that if someone has been determined by the VA to be unable to handle their own financial affairs, they are not clear minded enough to be handling a loaded weapon.

Some of us would say, “Duh. Obviously.”

But the NRA, and the members of Congress whom they own, are willing to pull out the old “you have a constitutional right to bear arms” line. They are willing to risk the lives of these struggling veterans in the name of much misunderstood second amendment.

They have chosen to ignore the fact that an armed, mentally ill, angry, paranoid, depressed, highly trained former military person with a loaded weapon is a danger to himself, his family, neighbors and the public at large.

General David Petraeus, along with 13 other highly decorated military leaders, is willing to stand up and call this bill what it is.

A blatant attempt by the NRA to sell more guns, and damn the consequences.

What makes this story even more infuriating, if you can believe it, is that a similar bill allowing mentally ill civilian to buy guns was signed by President Trump just last month.

I’m delighted that powerful people like David Petraeus are out there protecting veterans. But I have to wonder which powerful people will stand up to protect civilians like me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK6OMZ_JrR4

Featured image via YouTube screengrab.

Karen is a retired elementary school teacher with many years of progressive activism behind her. She is the proud mother of three young adults who were all arrested with Occupy Wall Street. To see what she writes about in her spare time, check out her blog at "Empty Nest, Full Life"