Last week the House voted to help states streamline reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is used to check the eligibility of persons who want to purchase firearms.
The bill will assure better enforcement of a federal law that prevents certain criminals, persons with restraining orders and persons adjudged to be mentally ill from buying guns. It includes $250 million to help states update and automate their reporting procedures, and imposes penalties on states that fail to comply with the new requirements.
The new law is the legislative response to the April 16 rampage at Virginia Tech University. Seng-Hui Cho, who had been ordered by the courts to undergo mental health treatment and was technically prohibited from purchasing a firearm, was able to buy a pair of handguns and kill 32 students and faculty members when his name was not added to the federal database.
For Utahns, the incident was a grim reminder of 1999 and De-Kieu Duy, who, like Cho, had been in trouble with the law and was ordered to attend mental health counseling sessions. Duy also slipped through the cracks. She purchased a pistol before killing one person and wounding another in the Triad Center in Salt Lake City.
Now the House legislation goes to the Senate, where sponsors assure its quick passage. President Bush has indicated he would sign the bill into law.
It would be the first significant federal firearms legislation since 1996, when persons convicted of domestic violence were added to the list of prohibited purchasers. And it's even more noteworthy because it was approved with very few shots being fired. Even the National Rifle Association is on board.
Officials with The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence hope the bill's passage will signal a new era in Congress, and serve as a springboard for background checks for all gun sales, not just those by licensed dealers. It could, and should, happen.
It took the death of 32 innocents and one deranged gunman at Virginia Tech, but the stars are now aligned for real and meaningful gun law reform in Washington, D.C.
