New legislation from Texas Sen. John Cornyn would make the federal background check system for buying guns more effective, in addition to strengthening programs for treating people with mental illnesses.
The Republican lawmaker, who is also the majority whip, introduced the legislation Wednesday ahead of the Senate’s five-week recess. The effort, dubbed the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act, garnered support from the National Rifle Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the National Association of Police Organizations.
The bill “would clarify the types of mental health records required to be forwarded to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System — an issue raised in the recent shooting in Lafayette, La. — and encourage states to send more information to the database by creating a stick-and-carrot compliance system. It would also encourage ‘best practices’ for responding to mental health crises, including the use of specially trained response teams by federal and local law enforcement agencies.”
Though no Democrats have yet signed onto the bill, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer introduced legislation earlier this week that would revamp the federal background check system.
The push for gun control legislation comes after a summer that has seen deadly shootings in both Charleston, S.C., and Lafayette, La.
Currently, background checks are only required for gun sales by federally licensed gun dealers. Though people who have been legally ruled “mentally defective” or have been committed to mental institutions are unable to buy firearms, states are not required to send those records to the FBI-run federal database, leaving a loophole.
“This legislation will strengthen programs that promote preventative screening and crisis response training so that we can better understand and treat the factors which may endanger public safety,” Cornyn said in a statement. “By giving our communities the resources necessary to recognize and prevent acts of violence, we not only protect American families, but help those affected by mental illness.”
(h/t Yahoo News, the Washington Post)
