The Senate’s continuing resolution to end the 41-day government shutdown brings both relief and disappointment for gun rights advocates, extending protections against the veterans gun ban through 2030 while leaving over 200,000 veterans disarmed and maintaining full Biden era funding for the ATF.
The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill attached to the continuing resolution includes language defunding the VA’s ability to report veterans with fiduciaries to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System through September 30, 2030. The Senate passed this measure 60 to 40 on November 9, 2025, providing $153.3 billion in discretionary funding for VA and military construction projects.
The National Association for Gun Rights acknowledged the progress while highlighting serious concerns. “The Senate has attached three of the twelve appropriations bills, including the MilCon/VA language, which defunds the veterans’ gun ban through 2030. But there’s more gun owners should be aware of,” the organization stated on X. The group outlined three key points.
“THE GOOD: The attached MilCon/VA appropriations bill defunds the veterans’ gun ban through September 30, 2030.
THE BAD: The CR does not adjust the ATF’s budget levels, maintaining them at Biden era funding amounts.
THE UGLY: While Congress achieved some progress on veterans’ gun rights, they failed to retroactively remove the over 200,000 veterans who have already been wrongly added to the NICS ‘no buy’ list.”
The new CR language has been released.
The Senate has attached three of the twelve appropriations bills, including the MilCon/VA language, which defunds the veterans’ gun ban through 2030. But there’s more gun owners should be aware of…
THE GOOD: The attached MilCon/VA… pic.twitter.com/3bFEQCw6r1
— National Association for Gun Rights (@NatlGunRights) November 10, 2025
The controversy centers on a policy dating back to 1998 following the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993. For decades, the Department of Veterans Affairs has automatically reported veterans who need help managing their finances to NICS. This designation as “mentally incompetent” has stripped over 200,000 veterans of their legal right to purchase or possess firearms without any judicial determination that they pose a danger.
Veterans who simply need assistance managing their VA benefits due to disability have been treated as “mental defectives” under the law, despite no court finding and no evidence linking financial management difficulties to dangerousness. Unlike civilians, who must be adjudicated dangerous by a court before losing gun rights, veterans lose this constitutional protection through an administrative VA determination based solely on financial management capacity.
Gun control advocates defend the policy. Giffords, the gun control group, stated: “Since 2006, veterans have died by suicide nearly 20 times more often than soldiers have been killed at war. Veterans deserve more than empty words. They deserve leaders who work to protect them. But many in Congress are stopping the VA from flagging when a veteran is at a heightened risk of harming themselves or others, and therefore shouldn’t have access to a gun,” the group wrote on X.
Since 2006, veterans have died by suicide nearly 20 times more often than soldiers have been killed at war.
Veterans deserve more than empty words. They deserve leaders who work to protect them.
But many in Congress are stopping the VA from flagging when a veteran is at a…
— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) November 11, 2025
The ATF funding issue compounds concerns for Second Amendment supporters. The House passed Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill had proposed cutting ATF funding from $1.69 billion in FY2025 to $1.21 billion in FY2026, a reduction of approximately $480 million. However, the continuing resolution freezes spending at existing levels rather than implementing these proposed cuts.
To provide a permanent solution, Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) and Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) have introduced H.R. 1041 and S. 478, the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act. This legislation would permanently prohibit the VA from reporting veterans to NICS solely for having a fiduciary and crucially would require the VA to notify the Attorney General that all veterans previously reported solely for having a fiduciary should be removed from NICS.
The House Veterans Affairs Committee approved H.R. 1041 on May 6, 2025, by a vote of 13 to 11 along party lines. The bill has 40 House cosponsors and 15 Senate cosponsors and is endorsed by major veterans organizations including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and multiple gun rights groups.
The appropriations language expires September 30, 2030, meaning without permanent legislative action through the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act, the VA could resume the practice after that date. The failure to remove veterans already on the list remains the most significant gap in current protections.
Until Congress passes the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act and retroactively restores rights to the 200,000 veterans already disarmed, the fight for full constitutional restoration remains unfinished.
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About José Niño
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can contact him via Facebook and X/Twitter. Subscribe to his Substack newsletter by visiting “Jose Nino Unfiltered” on Substack.com.
