February 27, 2008

 

Virginia-Tech Gun Loophole Bill Passes Committee

MADISON… A bill that will prevent people committed involuntarily for mental health reasons from purchasing a firearm has cleared a committee and is one step closer to becoming law.  This bill is in response to the tragic events at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, where a gunman killed 32 people and himself.

Today Assembly Bill 424, authored by Representative Scott Gunderson (R-Waterford) and Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) passed the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice.  The bill must pass the Assembly and Senate in the next few weeks before becoming law.  An identical bill, Senate Bill 216, is scheduled for a hearing next Tuesday, March 3 in the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Corrections.

Under mental health proceedings, a court would make a determination if an individual deemed a “mental defective” under federal law is prohibited from possessing a firearm. AB 424 and SB 216 would require the State Department of Justice to provide the necessary mental health information to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) which would prohibit a firearm purchase.

“This bill will keep people who are prohibited for mental health reasons under state and federal law from buying handguns,” said Gunderson.  “This bill does not create any new prohibitions for gun purchases; rather, it simply makes information available to DOJ and NICS that is required under law.”

On January 8, 2008, President Bush signed into law the NICS Improvement Act (HR 2640), a law that provides $250 million annually to states that implement laws such as AB 424 and SB

216. The new law takes a carrot-and-stick approach to get states to report people who are ineligible to buy guns. It authorizes up to $250 million a year for five years to states to help pay the cost of providing the records, and threatens to withhold federal anti-crime funds if the states fail to act.

“We clearly have the need for this bill, and now the Federal government has provided funding for this mandate,” said Darling.  “It’s time for Wisconsin to make sure prohibited-purchasers like Seung-Hui Cho can’t buy a gun in Wisconsin.”