President-elect Donald Trump‘s nomination of former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to serve as secretary of the Department of Veteran Affairs on Nov. 14, 2024 could manifest as a blessing for gun owners who previously served in the military.
During his announcement on Nov. 14, Trump declared Collins would be a “great advocate for active-duty service members, veterans and military families to ensure they have the support they need.”
“We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform,” Trump added. “Thank you, Doug, for your willingness to serve our country in this important role.”
On the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Collins expressed his gratitude for the nomination, noting that veterans deserve “the best care and support.”
“We’ll fight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA, root out corruption, and ensure every veteran receives the benefits they’ve earned,” Collins stressed. “Together, we’ll make the VA work for those who fought for us. Time to deliver for our veterans and give them the world-class care they deserve.”
Collins served two years as a Navy chaplain prior to joining the Air Force in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Collins served in the United States Congress from 2013 to 2021.
During his time in Congress, Collins has served as a solid proponent of gun rights. In 2013, Collins introduced H.R. 2277, a bill that would end the ATF’s “sporting purposes” distinction. The “sporting purpose test” went into effect in 1968 as part of the Gun Control Act of 1968.
This distinction was enacted to differentiate between the importation of firearms that would be permitted and the rest that would be prohibited. The ones banned tended to be military surplus rifles.
A 1989 executive order would expand the ban, without receiving approval from Congress, to so-called “semiautomatic assault weapons” largely based on cosmetic features. This executive order laid the foundation for the “assault weapons” ban enacted during the Clinton era. To rectify this arbitrary ban, Collins’ bill would erase every time “sporting purpose” is mentioned throughout the Federal Code.
On a similar note, Collins voted for an amendment to temporarily block the veterans gun ban. Despite the VA’s innocuous image, it has a history of using subversive means to attack veterans’ gun rights. When veterans try to get the healthcare they need, VA bureaucrats deem them to be “mentally defective” to justify the deprivation of their right to bear arms.
Reports show that 99.3% of the names sent over to the NICS’s “mentally defective” list were provided by the VA itself. In other words, the bulk of veterans categorized as “mentally defective” were veterans who needed financial assistance. Instead of helping them with their financial issues, VA bureaucrats worked to disarm troubled veterans.
In an X post published on Dec. 6, GOA called on Collins to use his role as VA Secretary to permanently end the veterans gun ban:
“We need Trump’s VA Secretary nominee @RepDougCollins to commit to PERMANENTLY ENDING the unconstitutional veteran gun ban at @DeptVetAffairs No veteran should be disarmed for seeking financial help with their earned benefits!”
Collins is a solid choice to head the VA. This agency needs a pro-Second Amendment leader who will stand up for the gun rights of veterans. Those who made the greatest sacrifices to defend our great nation and its sacred freedoms deserve to be treated better.
With a pro-gun figure like Collins at the helm, there’s a good chance of permanently getting rid of the unjust ban on veteran gun owners. It is the highest insult to deprive our warriors of their God-given right to bear arms.
