It’s not difficult for mentally ill individuals to get past federal gun-control barriers designed to stop these very same people from buying handguns.

 

The 13-year-old, FBI-run National Instant Criminal Background Check System is supposed to inform gun dealers if a prospective buyer is ineligible to purchase a gun because they have a history of mental illness. But the database is missing considerable amounts of information due to the fact that most states don’t bother to share mental health records with federal officials.

 

According to the advocacy group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, 90% of states don’t forward all mental health records to the background check database. An analysis of records submitted revealed that 23 states delivered fewer than 100 mental health histories, while another 17 submitted fewer than 10 histories and four submitted none at all.

 

Only 9 of 61 federal agencies have contributed metal health records to the FBI database, and almost all of the submitted records come from the Department of Veteran Affairs.

 

More than 600 U.S. mayors belong to Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Mentally Ill May Buy Guns With Ease: Most U.S. States Not Forwarding Crucial Mental Health Records to Database Used tro Screen Gun Licenses (by Alison Gendar, New York Daily News)

Fatal Gaps: How Missing Records in the Federal Background Check System Puts Guns in the Hands of Killers (Mayors Against Illegal Guns) (pdf)