An Anonymous Rebuttal
MichaelConnelly.Jigsy.com
On February 20, 2013 I wrote and posted the first
article on my blog titled “Disarming America’s
Heroes” detailing what was happening to veterans who
were being denied their Second Amendment and Fifth
Amendment rights. It was reposted on many websites
and within a few days attacked on Michelle Malkin’s
blog called “Twitchy”. The article attacking my
article was posted anonymously by someone using the
handle “GothGuy” who claims to be a former Veterans
Advocate.
He
basically claims that my article is totally
inaccurate and misleading and that no veterans are
losing their Second Amendment rights.
It is in fact his claims that are totally
inaccurate. For example, he makes the following
statement “What
he (the author) has written is misleading on a
couple of points (actually, more than a couple). Not
just ‘someone in the VA’ can declare a veteran
incompetent, the veteran must be diagnosed by a
doctor as incompetent during an examination”
In
fact, virtually none of the veterans we are
representing at the USJF have ever had such an
examination by a doctor, and certainly not by a
psychiatrist or a psychologist. They may have been
diagnosed with having PTSD, but that is not
classified as a mental illness and certainly doesn’t
make someone incompetent to handle their own
financial affairs, or incapable of owning a firearm.
The
anonymous writer then goes on to state: “Further,
the author cites the 5th Amendment, well, again,
it’s misleading the way he wrote this. The veteran
is free to submit evidence, request a
pre-determination hearing before being declared
incompetent to handle his or her affairs, and trust
me, I have participated in those hearing many times
over 16 years, and have won virtually all of them
prior to the final determination. No 5th Amendment
rights are violated.”
In fact, this comment proves the very point I made
in my article. The due process clause of the
Constitution requires the government to prove that
someone is guilty or in this case incompetent.
Yet, what the writer states is that the
veteran bears the burden of proof at his or her own
expense to prove that they are competent. There are
numerous other inaccuracies in this article but the
bottom line is that this anonymous writer is clearly
defending the illegal actions of the VA.
What is even more disturbing to me is that within a
few days of the appearance of this attack on a
conservative website, the article was posted on a
blog sponsored by the American Legion called “Burn
Pit”. The person who posted it is named Mark Searcy
and he not only endorsed the comments of the writer,
but added his own inaccurate comments like: “A
lot of well-meaning folks are sending me links to
this piece at "Red Flag" news about how the VA is
trying to confiscate the guns of people with PTSD.
It's not entirely accurate.”
Unfortunately, it appears that Mr. Searcy either did
not read my original article or has distorted what
it says. It dealt with veterans losing their second
amendment rights for numerous other reasons than
just PTSD. He concludes his comments by stating: “So
here's the real deal....yes, it is happening, but
only to people who are adjudicated as being mentally
incompetant for purposes of handling their financial
dealings. It isn't everyone with PTSD,
everyone at 100 percent disability, or anything of
the like. If there is someone out there who
has been adjudicated incompetant, and is worried
about being added to the NICS list, contact us
immediately so we can help you.” (The misspellings
of incompetent are his, not mine)
As I clearly point out in my article, there is no
legal adjudication involved, and Mr. Searcy seems
totally uninterested in the fact that these veterans
are losing their right to own a firearm and being
put on the FBI National Instant Criminal Background
Checklist. Yet there are thousands of veterans who
have lost their right to own a firearm who have not
been adjudicated to be “mentally defective to the
point of being a danger to themselves or others.”
It is obvious that neither Mr. Searcy nor the person
known only as GothGuy have never talked to any of
the veterans I have nor have they talked to the VA
whistleblowers who have provided me with
confirmation of the information in my articles. Yet,
this anonymous article was posted on a conservative
website, picked up and amplified on an American
Legion website and is now being forwarded to
veterans all over the country.
Ironically, I am a lifetime member of the American
Legion and a past post commander, yet no one at the
Legion ever contacted me to give me a chance to show
the evidence we have accumulated and verify that
everything I have said is true. Our veterans deserve
better.