Most people would not expect things like gun control and Social Security disability to coincide, but they do in association with new regulations Social Security just published and will go into effect prior to the new president taking office.
These new regulations relate to Social Security’s authority to report disability claimants who are appointed a representative payee to a database used to screen gun purchases. People who are found disabled and appointed a representative payee are considered to be unable to manage their own Social Security payments and many times claimants who have payees have significant mental health disabilities. People who have representative payees will not be allowed to purchase guns..
After inauguration day the president’s new administration will be able to decide whether to implement the new regulations or to change them.
Under the final rules Social Security will “identify on a prospective basis, individuals who receive disability insurance benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments on a finding that the individual’s mental impairments” require the appointment of a representative payee.
This initiative goes back to May of 2016 when Social Security published a notice of proposed rulemaking. There has been a lot of debate about this proposal and gun activists oppose most measures that would limit a person’s ability to purchase guns. It is difficult to understand why anyone would oppose such a measure. If a person has been found to be disabled and unable to manage something as simple as their own Social Security payments due to significant mental health impairments why would we allow these same people to purchase guns? Considering a new administration will be in charge in less than one month it will be interesting to see how these new regulations will change anything. To take a closer look at these new regulations click here.
