Only two GOP House members had the compassion and the common sense to vote against a measure that would put guns within easy reach of mentally ill vets.
Too many of our veterans come out of the service broken, in body and in spirit. We owe them enormous gratitude, as well as a pledge to keep them safe.
But a vote by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives fell way short of keeping that promise, especially for those deemed mentally incompetent by the federal government.
Only two GOP House members had the compassion and the common sense to vote against a measure that would put guns within easy reach of mentally ill vets - a bill ridiculously called the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, and highly financed by the National Rifle Association.
One of those lawmakers was Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.).
His was an act of political courage, and we salute him, not merely for bucking his party, but also for valuing integrity above expedience.
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The bill would require a judge to rule that veterans posed a danger to themselves or others before they could be denied the right to buy weapons.
The vote followed on the heels of a vote last month overturning a rule requiring the Social Security Administration to share with the national gun database the names of those with mental illnesses who need representatives to handle their disability and supplemental benefit checks.
The latest measure would prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from reporting those veterans the agency judged mentally incompetent - a move that could put veterans' safety at risk, Lance argued reasonably.
Some heavy hitters supported the Garden State congressman's stance, including the Veterans Coalition for Common Sense, whose members include such retired generals as Wesley Clark and David Petraeus.
According to the coalition, the measure would remove from the background check database 174,000 veterans, some of whom suffer from schizophrenia, dementia or post-traumatic stress disorder.
As much as our sympathies lie with these men and women, making it easier to put guns in their hands does no one any service - neither them nor the people around them.
Just the opposite, in fact.
Records compiled by the Department of Veterans Affairs indicate that 20 U.S. veterans commit suicide every day.
According to The Military Times, more than 7,400 veterans took their own lives in 2014, the latest year available. While vets make up less than 9 percent of the nation's population, their suicides account for 18 percent of all suicides in the United States.
Last year, the NRA shelled out $23 million to buy a Republican-controlled Congress. We commend Lance and his colleague Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.) for voting with their conscience, not their pocketbooks.
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