More Mentally Ill Barred From Buying Guns

A federal list of mentally ill people barred from buying guns has doubled in size since the Virginia Tech shootings, and U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey encouraged more states Thursday to add information to the database.

In his first policy speech since taking over as attorney general early this month, Mukasey said states have now reported 393,957 mentally ill people to the federal database used to screen the backgrounds of potential gun-buyers. As of last July, three months after the Virginia Tech shootings, states had submitted only 174,863 names to the database.

"Instant background checks are essential to keeping guns out of the wrong hands, while still protecting the privacy of our citizens," Mukasey said.

"But as we learned in the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the checks must be accurate and complete to be effective," Mukasey told the National Association of Attorneys General. "We're making progress, and I hope that even more states will submit this information so that the national instant background check system can be maximally effective."

People are included in the federal database only after courts or other authorities have found them to have mental health problems, Justice Department officials said. Federal agencies, including the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments, also submit names, but the Justice Department could not immediately say how many.

Currently, 32 states submit names to the mental health database, and the federal government cannot force the other 18 to follow suit.

"We've got 32, it'd be nice to have 50," Mukasey said.

Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and himself in the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history. He bought two guns - a Glock 9mm at a Virginia store and a .22-caliber pistol over the Internet - despite a special justice's 2005 order to get outpatient treatment for being a danger to himself. There has been no indication that Cho ever received the treatment.

Had his court order been submitted to the federal database, Cho likely would have been unable to buy the guns.

Private mental health records, including diagnosis documents from hospitals or insurance companies, are not accessed or submitted to the database. Overall, more than 5 million people are identified in the background check system that is maintained by the FBI and also tracks the names of illegal immigrants, domestic violence offenders and others who are barred from buying guns.

Despite Cho's gun purchases, Virginia traditionally has submitted far more names of mentally ill people to the federal database than other states, Justice data show. Shortly after the Virginia Tech shootings, officials said the state had given 81,233 names to the FBI. Michigan had the second-largest submission of names then, with 73,382, the Justice data show.

By comparison, California had submitted only 27 names of mentally ill people to the database as of April 30. Since then, the state has given more than 200,000 names to the list, Justice officials said.

National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the gun-rights group has no problem with the database.

"It has always been our position that whoever has been adjudicated as mentally defective or deemed to be a danger to themselves, others or suicidal, that their name be included in the national incident check system," he said.

Ron Honberg, legal director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, was not surprised that more states are reporting since the Virginia Tech shooting. "We're uneasy about it," he said. "We're concerned that in the minds of many, mental illness is, per se, equated with violence."

The list could have the names of people who were ill decades ago but have received treatment and are well, or information from the database could be used for unintended purposes, Honberg said.

"It frustrates us that when tragedies like Virginia Tech occur, the focus is on guns and not how somebody like Cho falls through the cracks," Honberg said.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat, said he was pleased to hear Mukasey urging greater cooperation among states.

He said Arizona was one of the first to submit mental-health records. He wants the federal government to consider relaxing some privacy laws so colleges would have access to the records. "Obviously, privacy has to be considered, but we have some harmful powder kegs out there who are older than 18," Goddard said.

The attorneys general from 33 states gave Mukasey's speech polite applause. Several of the top state lawyers told reporters afterward that Mukasey's biggest challenge will be restoring morale in the Justice Department.

"I think having a new attorney general will help tremendously," said Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett, a Republican appointee. "I think many of my colleagues agree he commands enormous respect."

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, a Republican, said that Mukasey, in a private meeting with some of the attorneys general, said fighting terrorism and combating violent crime would be among his top priorities.

Wasden said Mukasey did not talk about the legality of waterboarding, a brutal interrogation technique that creates the sensation of drowning.