Another Coburn amendment killed by Senate

The Senate this morning killed another proposed amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, to the health care bill. This one concerned gun ownership rights for veterans considered “mentally incompetent.” It died by a vote of 45-53. Last night, the Senate killed a Coburn proposal to ensure sex offenders don’t get subsidized health insurance coverage for Viagra or other erectile dysfunction drugs.
Here’s an explanation from Coburn’s office about the amendment killed today:
“This (amendment)l protects veterans from being denied their Second Amendment rights without due process. Specifically, veterans who are considered mentally incompetent for purposes of assigning benefit payments, may not be considered “adjudicated as a mental defective” unless they have been found by a judicial authority to be a danger to themselves or to others. Currently, these veterans are immediately considered “adjudicated as a mental defective” and lose their rights to possess and purchase firearms even though they are no danger to themselves or others. According to (the Congressional Research Service), over 140,000 veterans have been added to a national database of those prohibited from owning or purchasing a firearm. This bill is endorsed by the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, AMVETS, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Gun Owners of America, the NRA, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.”