Nurses Use Guns To Remove Republicans From Voting Rolls
Courtesy of Misconceptions

The right is rejoicing because within the policies of Obama-care lies wording which they say, precludes Obama from using his executive order to ban weaponry or ammunition. They are rather ecstatic right now… Harry Reid inserted such language protecting guns and ammo within the gigantic health-care bill, and only now has it been uncovered. The original intent was to get the NRA to back off trying to kill the bill. The NRA did, and the bill passed… and this past summer was validated by Justice Robert’s decision.

The amendment is being touted on Right Wing blogs as Senate amendment 3276, Sec 2716, part c “Protection of Second Amendment Rights” They then admit they were intimidated by the gigantic size of the bill to look at the text directly. They do have a point. Turns out it is hard to find.

For those wishing to see it in person, it is here on page 2037 beginning on line 23.

The first provision is related to the Wellness and Prevention program. Since America leads the world in gun deaths, there was conservative concern that to stem the cost of national insurance, the Wellness and Prevention program would price out a person as a result on whether he had guns or not. This language simply removes that concern from the table. They may ask how many sexual partners you go through in a month, but not how many guns exist in your arsenal.

Basically this limited provision applies to medical personal. Just as under HIPAA they cannot disclose personal matters without a release form, that now applies to lawful weaponry. including guns and ammunition….

This language expressly states that under all auspices of those organizations directly under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Health, none can report on the possession of legal firearms to anyone.

‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON DATABASES OR DATA
21 BANKS.—None of the authorities provided to the Sec-
22 retary under the Patient Protection and Affordable
23 Care Act or an amendment made by that Act shall
24 be construed to authorize or may be used to maintain
25 HR 3590 EAS/PP records of individual ownership or possession of a
1 firearm or ammunition.

(It does not mean the Justice Department is forbidden from creating a file. Or the FBI. Or the NSA. Those files are still legal under this law. It means that Doctors, Nurses, and other medical officers are not to divulge a patient’s ownership of a legal weapon.)

This law was inserted to combat fears like this: if a legal firearm owner were to show up with powder burns on his skin, the knowledge that he had a firearm, could without this specific clause, be divulged to authorities. It can no longer be so.

A pretty nice nod to the gun community and the NRA.

But, in the Right’s initial exuberance coming no doubt from not investigating the actual text itself, the idea that this protection prevents Biden and Obama from using Executive Orders to ban certain types of guns, is overstated.

This is a medical bill, and the language specifically links this protection to the medical community.

Furthermore, the protection extends by specific wording to “legal” firearms and “legal” ammunition. Once the Executive order is put into effect banning certain types of firearms, those firearms are no longer “legal”, and can, if it is the right thing to do, be reported to “legal” authorities.

The rest of the writing pertains to the prevention of halting a person’s Affordable insurance, simply because they have a legal firearm.

–A premium rate may not be increased, health
5 insurance coverage may not be denied, and a dis-
6 count, rebate, or reward offered for participation in
7 a wellness program may not be reduced or withheld
8 under any health benefit plan issued pursuant to or
9 in accordance with the Patient Protection and Afford-
10 able Care Act or an amendment made by that Act on
11 the basis of, or on reliance upon—
12 ‘‘(A) the lawful ownership or possession of
13 a firearm or ammunition; or
14 ‘‘(B) the lawful use or storage of a firearm
15 or ammunition.

Note again this only applies to “lawful” guns and ammunition. Unlawful ones can and should be impounded.

So although I was semi-deflated when I first heard the news that a law preventing the national registration of any type of assault rifle or mega-clip ammunition clip had been sneaked into the Affordable Care Act, now after seeing the text itself, I am relieved it can still be done. Just not done by any department under the authority of the Secretary who is placed in charge of the Affordable Care’s enactment…..

So yes, the President can still ban guns by an Executive Order, thereby navigating around the irrational objections of 67 out of the 535 people voting in both houses of Congress.