Lawmakers consider a variety of bills to loosen restrictions around firearms

Companion bills in the House and Senate aim to protect Second Amendment rights for veterans. The proposed legislation would require specific mental capacity evaluations before reporting veterans to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Illinois Republican Rep. Mike Bost stated, “This bill is not about guns on demand,” during a hearing regarding the proposed legislation.

The National Rifle Association noted that hundreds of thousands of veterans have been reported by Veterans Affairs as “mental defectives” to the NICS over the past 27 years.