Well said. I'm totally on board with following the law and and "due process". That being said, due process in this country involves what you can afford. lawyers are expensive. Are we willing to bear the cost burden in our current environment to insure due process is performed?tallmike wrote:The "aid and assistance" money that his spouse got is a very small amount of money, but to get it they had to say that his PTSD was so severe that she needed to stay home from work to take care of him full time. Since the disability was a mental issue and he was stating the mental issue was so severe that he needed a caretaker, a doctor declared him unable to take care of himself due to severe mental issues and she was declared his caretaker.2firfun50 wrote:Protecting civil liberties while protecting the public is tough. I do think about a mentally disabled vet waking up and feeling the need to sweep the "town" of insurgents. It would only need to happen once.AndyC wrote:Here's an actual case:
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2010/0 ... bear-arms/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;The specific benefit is called the “Aid and Assistance/Housebound” and is meant for veterans so disabled that they cannot take care of themselves at all. It allows a small stipend to help a designated caretaker provide for the severely-disabled vet. Sgt. Wayne Irelan of Arkansas, wounded in combat in Iraq and awarded the Purple Heart, made the mistake of signing up for this benefit.
For the Irelans to receive this benefit the VA first declared Wayne’s PTSD to be so bad that he was considered “mentally incompetent,” and his wife Lana was designated his caretaker. Only Wayne apparently didn’t realize what else he was signing up for besides that small amount of money.
Any vet declared to be mentally incompetent instantly loses his rights to own firearms or ammunition. And those rights are stripped regardless of what that vet has actually done.
You read that correctly. All it takes is a declaration by some government bureaucrat, and a veteran’s rights–the exact same rights guaranteed by the Constitution he swore to defend with his own life–can be stripped away. Even if the vet hasn’t done anything wrong.
About a year after he started receiving the Aid and Assistance/Housebound stipend, Wayne Irelan got a letter from the Arkansas State Police saying his Arkansas concealed carry permit had been revoked.
Was he really that severely impaired? I don't know, but he obviously convinced at least 1 VA doctor that he was. If someone requires a full time caretaker due to a mental disability, don't we want their doctor to say something?
My mother-in-all has severe dementia. To follow due process to get her in a safe, secure facility, we're looking at $10K to $20K just in legal fees. We need to pay for our attorney and hers.
We now have her in a very good facility. safe and secure. I'm down $13K but my wife sleeps well at night knowing her mother is safe. Money well spent.
My entire point. Are we willing and ready to assist with the price of due process to protect the rights of our citizens? I'm really concerned that most veterans are not able to pay for " due process" and those insisting on it are not willing to foot the bill.
I'm willing to foot the bill.
