We oppose this rule because it advances and reinforces the harmful stereotype that
people with mental disabilities, a vast and diverse group of citizens, are violent.
There is no data to support a connection between the need for a representative
payee to manage one's Social Security disability benefits and a propensity toward
gun violence. The rule further demonstrates the damaging phenomenon of ”spread,"
or the perception that a disabled individual with one area of impairment
automatically has additional, negative and unrelated attributes. Here, the rule
automatically conflates one disability-related characteristic, that is, difficulty
managing money, with the inability to safely possess a firearm.