Department of Veterans Affairs defies New York Gun Control Statue

Curtis Skinner from New York World reports:

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said it will not comply with the provision of New York’s new gun control law requiring mental health providers to report potentially dangerous individuals to state authorities.

The Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act calls on doctors and therapists to alert county health officials to patients they deem “likely” to engage in conduct that will result in serious self-injury or harm to others.

Once notified of potentially harmful individuals, the state will check their names against a new state database of licensed gun owners. If there’s a match, local law enforcement will be authorized to remove weapons if their owner does not voluntarily surrender them.

Mark Ballesteros, spokesperson for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said in an email statement that “federal laws safeguarding the confidentiality of veterans’ treatment records do not authorize VA mental health professionals to comply with this NY State law.”

Veterans determined mentally incompetent to handle their own affairs by the VA are reported to the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check database. While the background-check database will be used under the New York law to screen firearms sales, the information on veterans’ mental health is not included in the data viewable by states, according to the VA.

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