1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I’m writing to ask the Senator to oppose Section 412 of the FY2026 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill—known as the Kennedy Amendment—and support efforts to remove this dangerous policy rider from the final legislation. The Kennedy Amendment prohibits the VA from reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) any veteran who has been deemed mentally incapacitated or incompetent, which obstructs the VA's ability to protect vulnerable veterans and the public from gun violence, particularly firearm suicide.