Letter: Members of Congress should be praised, not committed

I would like to respond to Bink Owen’s letter to the editor (TCH, March 14). He indicates that the tragedy at Sandy Hook could have been prevented if firearm background checks had been in place. He apparently is unaware that the person charged in the catastrophe took the weapon from his mother’s house after he killed her with it. No kind of background check could have interrupted his crimes.

Mr. Owen suggests that 57 members of Congress be committed for voting to repeal an Obama administration executive order that prevented disabled persons from possessing firearms or ammunition. Federal law 18USC922(g) states that … any person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

The Obama order redefined the term “mental defective” to include anyone who was found incompetent to manage his or her “financial” affairs. Obama applied the definition to the veterans receiving disability benefits and then to anyone receiving Supplemental Security Income from the Social Security Administration, all without due process to determine incompetency.

Instead of suggesting committing 57 members of Congress, Mr. Owen should have praised their resolve to overcome the lawlessness of the Obama administration.

This story was originally published March 19, 2017 at 4:20 AM with the headline "Letter: Members of Congress should be praised, not committed."