Jim,

While reviewing policies about VA appointed fiduciaries I came across an interesting paragraph on the VA site.

Due to The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, anyone deemed unfit to manage their benefits loses the right to purchase or carry a gun and are added to FBI NICS background check database.

The paragraph mentions a way to appeal this but doesn’t give any detail. Would an appeal be in the form of a NOD?

Here’s the full text from the VA site:

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.” In compliance with this act, VA reports the names of incompetent beneficiaries to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), 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. The VA will determine whether such relief is warranted. http://benefits.va.gov/fiduciary/beneficiary.asp

Reply:

This is known as the NICS Relief Program. I discuss a bit about vets & weapons here http://www.vawatchdog.org/guns---veterans.html

There is a VA Fast Letter telling regional managers how to manage the program. FL 10-51 describes the NICS Relief process in detail.

It's always interesting to me when I see VA publish phrases like "You may apply to VA for relief of firearms prohibitions imposed by the law by submitting your request to the VA" and then failing to provide even the simplest instructions about how to complete that action.

Whether it's intentional or just sloppy technical writing (I suspect the latter) VA deprives veterans of their rights.