http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2659
The US Congress has approved the first major gun legislation since 1994, improving background checks on buyers.
The bill was prompted by the deaths of 32 people at Virginia Tech University in April, when a mentally ill student used two guns he had been able to buy.
The law clarifies what mental health records must be included in checks and gives funds to states to help automate the processing of records.
It has been widely welcomed but critics say it will do “more harm than good”.
The shooting rampage by student Cho Seung-hui on the campus at Virginia Tech in April shocked Americans.
That shock was all the greater when it emerged that a judge had ruled that Cho was a danger to himself and should receive mental health treatment.
But because of concerns over privacy laws, the judge’s report never made it into federal records.This meant Cho was able legally to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people and himself.
“A credible…federal database to provide accurate background checks benefits everyone,” said Sen Patrick Leahy, a co-sponsor of the bill.
Privacy laws
Under existing legislation from 1968, people barred from buying guns include those convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison, drug addicts and those found by a court to be mentally disabled.
But privacy laws and budget restraints have meant most states fail to pass on such information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the main way gun dealers determined whether potential buyers are legally able to purchase a gun.
The new legislation aims to close those gaps:
* it provides funds to improve NICS
* sets out which mental health records should be reported
* provides $375m (£187m) a year for five years for states and state courts to improve processing of mental health information
* states failing to comply could lose federal funds
* states with good records could receive financial incentives
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7153339.stm