Ask a service officer

No. Veterans are not required to give up their guns (Second Amendment rights) in order to get VA mental health care. Only veterans rated incompetent by VA, which means determined unable to manage their VA funds, are subject to the Brady Bill provisions.

When VA makes a decision that a veteran is determined incompetent for VA payment purposes, then the VA is required to report the determination. The term “incompetent,” for VA purposes, is reserved for an adult who is deemed unable to manage his or her own financial affairs.

The purpose of VA’s Fiduciary Program is to protect veterans and beneficiaries who are unable to manage their VA benefits through the appointment and oversight of a fiduciary.

The determination that you are unable to manage your VA benefits does not affect your non-VA finances, or your right to vote or contract. You may also request to have your ability to manage your VA benefits be re-evaluated, or to have a new fiduciary appointed, at any time. If you wish a re-evaluation, please submit your request in writing with any supporting medical evidence to the regional office of jurisdiction.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act prohibits you from purchasing, possessing, receiving or transporting a firearm or ammunition if you have “been adjudicated as a mental defective or been committed to a mental institution.” VA reports the names of incompetent beneficiaries to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which then adds the names to a database called the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Gun dealers must check NICS for the name of a potential buyer before selling him/her a firearm. You may be fined and/or imprisoned if you knowingly violate this law.

You may apply to VA for relief of firearms prohibitions imposed by the law by submitting your request to the VA.

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