Republicans Vote to Ditch Obama-Era Rule Restricting Gun Access to Mentally Ill (UPDATE)

The GOP-led House voted to do away with a rule restricting gun sales to those with 'severe' mental illness.

UPDATE 2/15/17: The Senate voted 57-43 to scrap the Obama-era regulation Wednesday, the Hillreported. The resolution will now be passed to Trump, who is expected to add his signature.

See original story from 2/3/2017 below.

Republicans voted to repeal a regulation requiring the Social Security Administration to share information on those with mental illnesses with the national gun background check system, CNNreported Thursday. The rule was designed to limit the availability of guns to those with a mental illness severe enough to render them unable to handle the management of their own disability benefits. The GOP-dominated House voted 235-180 to roll back the rule.

Rep. John Barrasso of Wyoming struggled to defend the vote during an interview Friday morning, telling CNN's Alisyn Camerota he considered Obama's rule a "midnight" regulation. The rule, however, had been in development since the Sandy Hook massacre of 2012.

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

"You can take a look at what the Constitution says, which is what I do," Barrasso said when asked if he was "comfortable" with the idea of someone with a mental disability owning a firearm. "As a physician who spent lots of time dealing with patients of all different backgrounds, there are clearly people who have been labeled one way or another, and I'm not comfortable with this late midnight recommendation by the president as he's leaving office."

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

Rep. Mike Thompson of California expressed concern over Republicans' decision, which was supported by the National Rifle Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. "These are not people simply suffering from depression or anxiety or agoraphobia," Thompson said, according to the Washington Post. "These are people with a severe mental illness who can't hold any kind of job or make any decisions about their affairs, so the law says very clearly they shouldn't have a firearm."

The NRA-approved measure now heads to the Senate for likely approval.

Latest in Life