{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-biggs-leads-letter-president-trump-urge-support-veterans-second", "Congressman Biggs Leads Letter to President Trump to Urge Support for Veterans' Second Amendment Rights", "2020-10-14", "2020", "2020-10", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Andy Biggs", "B001302", "biggs.house.gov", "biggs", "https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "GILBERT, ARIZONA \u2013 Today, Congressman Andy Biggs, along with several Members of Congress, sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump, encouraging him to take executive action to stop the Department of Veterans Affairs from disarming vulnerable veterans.\n\nRepresentatives W. Gregory Steube (FL-17), Tom McClintock (CA-04), Ralph Abraham (LA-05), Bob Gibbs (OH-07), Jody Hice (GA-10), Paul Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Dan Meuser (PA-09), Brian Babin (TX-36), Adrian Smith (NE-03), Jim Baird (IN-04), Rick Crawford (AR-01), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Roger Williams (TX-25), Warren Davidson (OH-08), Mo Brooks (AL-05), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Debbie Lesko (AZ-08), Richard Hudson (NC-08), Randy Weber (TX-14), and Scott Perry (PA-10) joined as co-signers to this letter.\n\nRead the text of the letter below:\n\nOctober 14, 2020\n\nPresident Donald J. Trump\n\nThe White House\n\n1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW\n\nWashington, D.C. 20500\n\nDear Mr. President,\n\nThank you for your actions to ensure that our veterans have the best mental health care in the world. Our nation's heroes deserve the best care our nation has to offer, and we wholeheartedly support your laudable efforts to protect and empower veterans. However, any efforts that seek to protect veterans must respect the right to keep and bear arms. As such, we encourage you to take executive action to stop the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from disarming vulnerable veterans.\n\nToday, veterans who have been assigned a fiduciary are determined by the VA to be financially incompetent and are treated as persons prohibited from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition pursuant to 18 U.S.C. \u00a7 922(g)(4). These veterans are then reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System alongside convicted felons and illegal aliens.\n\nThe VA's fiduciary rule has led to many veterans being wrongly deprived of their constitutional rights. Receiving help to manage your VA benefits is not the same as being \"adjudicated as a mental defective\" or as being \"committed to a mental institution.\" Veterans should not have to worry about being disarmed when they seek assistance with benefits or healthcare from the VA.\n\nWhile this disarmament of our nation's veterans began with the Clinton administration, we recognize that this radical anti-gun agenda will not end with the disarmament of only our nation's veterans. Previously, Americans watched as the Obama administration tried to disarm Social Security beneficiaries in a similar manner. Thankfully, your administration worked with Congress to prevent the unconstitutional final rule from taking effect.\n\nMr. President, there is room for executive action to reconcile the VA's interpretive guidance with the VA's limited statutory authority. In fact, Gun Owners of America and the Independence Fund recently filed a rulemaking petition asking VA Secretary Robert Wilke to do just that.\n\nWe urge you to take this long-overdue action to respect the right of veterans to keep and bear arms.\n\nSincerely,\n\nAndy Biggs\n\nMember of Congress\n\nW. Gregory Steube\n\nMember of Congress\n\nTom McClintock\n\nMember of Congress\n\nRalph Abraham\n\nMember of Congress\n\nBob Gibbs\n\nMember of Congress\n\nJody Hice\n\nMember of Congress\n\nPaul Gosar, D.D.S.\n\nMember of Congress\n\nRalph Norman\n\nMember of Congress\n\nDan Meuser\n\nMember of Congress\n\nBrian Babin\n\nMember of Congress\n\nAdrian Smith\n\nMember of Congress\n\nJim Baird\n\nMember of Congress\n\nRick Crawford\n\nMember of Congress\n\nJeff Duncan\n\nMember of Congress\n\nRoger Williams\n\nMember of Congress\n\nWarren Davidson\n\nMember of Congress\n\nMo Brooks\n\nMember of Congress\n\nGus Bilirakis\n\nMember of Congress\n\nDebbie Lesko\n\nMember of Congress\n\nRichard Hudson\n\nMember of Congress\n\nRandy Weber\n\nMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:34:36Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-biggs-leads-letter-president-trump-urge-support-veterans-second"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2867101468145847, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}