You know that Chinese curse, may you live in interesting times? Check this from military.com: “The federal Department of Veterans Affairs says its mental health professionals won’t comply with a new gun law in New York that requires them to report the names of patients they believe likely to hurt themselves or others. The reporting provision is set to take effect Saturday.” As we reported earlier, Governor Cuomo’s office has yet to issue exact guidelines for mental health professionals required to report “dangerous” patients to the State so that their guns may (or may not) be confiscated. A practice which will deter seriously mentally ill people from seeking help and increase the danger of spree killers. While vets won’t [publicly] agree with the second part of that statement, they do with the first . . .
Several veterans and their advocates say it would deter many from seeking counseling and medications to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder or other psychological issues. Veterans fear their rights would be taken away.
Especially as the SAFE Act also doesn’t include any provisions for restoring the gun rights of citizens disarmed by bureaucrats. And here’s the kicker:
VA spokesman Mark Ballesteros says federal laws protecting veterans’ treatment records take precedence.
So I’m thinking that federal law protecting the right to keep and bear arms (a.k.a., the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution) also takes precedence over New York’s SAFE Act. As the Supreme Court ruled in the McDonald decision. Right?