Obama taking action on gun background check system

April 19, 2013 @ 3:03 am


President Barack Obama, next to Vice President Joe Biden, gestures as he speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington, on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, about the defeat in the Senate of a bill to expand background checks on guns. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) | Zoom

WASHINGTON (AP) - Blocked by Congress from expanding gun sale background checks, President Barack Obama is turning to actions within his own power to keep people from buying a gun who are prohibited for mental health reasons.

Federal law bans certain mentally ill people from purchasing firearms, but not all states are providing data to stop the prohibited sales to the FBI's background check system. A federal review last year found 17 states contributed fewer than 10 mental health records to the database, meaning many deemed by a judge to be a danger still could have access to guns.

The Obama administration was starting a process Friday aimed at removing barriers in health privacy laws that prevent some states from reporting information to the background check system. The action comes two days after the Senate rejected a measure that would have required buyers of firearms online and at gun shows to pass a background check. That's already required for shoppers at licensed gun dealers.

Stung by the defeat, Obama vowed to keep up the fight for the background check expansion but also to do what he could through executive action.

"Even without Congress, my administration will keep doing everything it can to protect more of our communities," Obama said from the Rose Garden shortly after the Senate voted. "We're going to address the barriers that prevent states from participating in the existing background check system."

Obama also mentioned giving law enforcement more information about lost and stolen guns and establishing emergency plans for schools. Those measures were among the 23 executive actions the president signed in January when he announced his broader push for tighter gun laws in response to a mass shooting of first-graders and staff at Newtown, Conn.'s Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The Health and Human Services Department on Friday was beginning to ask for public comment on how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, passed by Congress in 1996 and known as HIPAA, is preventing some states from reporting to the background check system and how to address the problem. Under HIPAA, health care providers such as hospitals may release limited information to police, but only in certain circumstances such as when a court is involved.

Since 1968, federal law has banned the sale of guns to those who have been deemed a danger to themselves or others, involuntarily committed or judged not guilty by reason of insanity or incompetent to stand trial. The background check system _ which is also used to prevent convicted felons from buying guns _ was established under the 1993 Brady Bill.

A few state agencies shared mental health records voluntarily for years, but the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007 spurred passage of legislation that required states to submit the records or eventually risk losing up to 5 percent of the federal funding they receive to fight crime.

Last year's review by the Government Accountability Office found that although the number of mental health records available to the background check system increased 800 percent since 2004, some states said they were not sharing mental health information because of concerns about restrictions under HIPAA privacy law. Obama is interested in a change that would specifically allow disclosure of mental health records for the system, and he wants to increase financial incentives for states to contribute the information.

In the Virginia Tech rampage, student Seung-Hui Cho shot 32 people to death and committed suicide. He was able to buy two guns even though he had been ruled a danger to himself during a court hearing in 2005 and was ordered to undergo outpatient mental health treatment.

Authorities have not described a possible motive or released details of any mental health condition that might explain why Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults before killing himself. The rifle he used was purchased by his mother, whom he also killed at home before heading to the school.

The background check system does not give retailers access to mental health records but simply tells them whether a buyer is approved, denied or needs additional investigation before a firearm may be purchased. The system doesn't tell the seller why a potential buyer was denied.

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Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nedrapickler


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (122)


  • Add A Comment

  • flipper wrote...
    The New Paradigm
    January 16, 2013 9:02 am
    We don't say "Gun Control" anymore, we talk about "Gun Violence". What about Knife Violence that kills, Road Rage that kills, etc..etc...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    flipper
    January 16, 2013 9:10 am
    What about ONE THING AT A TIME?How is it you put "road rage" and "knife violence" in the same category ? Its not even close and makes your disagreement look FOOLISH
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • A True Liberal wrote...
    The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it –Thomas Jefferson
    January 16, 2013 9:31 am
    Obama you have openly admitted in the past that you do not believe citizens should own firearms. The right to bare arms does not exist so we the people can hunt, protect our homes from criminals, go sport shooting…. It exists to protect the citizens from the United States Government. Should you one day choose to dissolve our civil liberties, our Bill of Rights, and our Constitution, our forefathers wanted the people to be able to resist this kind of internal tyranny. However, given that, I agreed with your first point. Private parties selling firearms to one another should make sure they’re not selling to a felon. Or someone registered as being mentally unstable. Perhaps similar to two private parties buying a car, they go down to DMV and transfer the registration. Perhaps a similar measure with private gun sales would work. This method certainly won’t stop felons from getting firearms, in fact probably just stop a small percentage of them at best. But it is something. However you suggesting we need to ban certain types of firearms is pointless. Banning “assault weapons” and high cap mags will make no difference in safety. In fact, it will make it worse most likely. You open up the flood gates on the black market for those weapons and accessories, making it easier for criminals to get their hands on them, and less easy for law abiding citizens to have them. If you want to make sure assault weapons don’t get in the wrong hands, then making them illegal is the worst thing you can do. Because now, only the criminals will be buying them, and owning them. In many states, the right to bare arms in a concealed manner is not take away, but there is a safety measure requiring you to pass a background check to receive a license to do so. Don’t deny us the right to own an assault weapon type rifles if we the people choose. But have a safety measure similar to getting a concealed pistol permit in place. It won’t solve the problem, but it is a small step to help keep these weapons in law abiding citizens hands, and not felons.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Nervoso wrote...
    I find these idiots who think God is going to fix the problem
    January 16, 2013 9:39 am
    hilarious (and scary, really). God is not going to fix any problems for you, moron. Good grief, get real you whackos.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • WAmovesRight wrote...
    You're too late to convicne me...
    January 16, 2013 10:44 am
    ... I've already seen first hand that God does indeed fix problems.

    God is real and so is His Word.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Nervoso
    January 17, 2013 4:27 am
    You are deep and extremely shallow at the same time. Congratulations.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • flipper wrote...
    Educate me...
    January 16, 2013 9:52 am
    ...what did Barry and Joe present that would have prevented Sandy Hook? or Aurora? or Ft. Hood? or Columbine?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleNative wrote...
    What I would like someone in the press to ask Obama...
    January 16, 2013 10:08 am
    ...is why Homeland Security has purchased 1.8 billion rounds of ammo in the past nine months, and who it is they think that they, being Homeland Security, may need to use it on?

    And then ask him why he thinks we need an assault weapons ban...

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Habakkuk 1:9 wrote...
    Magazines
    January 16, 2013 10:18 am
    Magazines are dangerous. People should be allowed to buy and read magazines, so long as they are limited to 10 pages. Obviously, anyone who thinks this violates the First Amendment must be an extremist.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HLC wrote...
    Flipper the answer to your question is simple.
    January 16, 2013 10:43 am
    Nothing at all. Which is typical of what dribble comes out of Obozo. Its hard to tell which end. If a nut case or a criminal wants a gun they will get a gun, it's real easy to get a gun illegally. I wonder if Clemmons bought his gun legally? He was a convicted felon so he would not pass a background check. This is a stunt on Obozos part. He will sign the UN gun treaty then we may find out what the 1.8 billion rounds of ammo was for. Can you say the 88k UN troops in this country right now.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • WAmovesRight wrote...
    2nd Amendment
    January 16, 2013 10:49 am
    ... If you honestly think your little AR-15 with a 30-round clip is going to protect you against the US government then you are foolish and simple minded.

    You may be able to shoot every ATF agent that runs down your drive way but what are you going to do about the guided missile launched from 10k feet that you don't see or hear until it blows your house up around you?

    I own guns... for personal & family defense. But I also know that assault weopons ban or not, we are waaaayyyy past the days where a group of armed citizens could realistically stand up against a determined US army.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Really?
    January 16, 2013 12:44 pm
    My "little" AR-15 is perfect for some criminal that attacks me , no kidding I cannot defend against a thermonuclear device.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • WAmovesRight wrote...
    @ Ron_Spins
    January 16, 2013 2:25 pm
    Exactly my point. These weapons are good and necessary... especially in some of our border towns. However, it's ludicrous to think you will stop the federal government with an aresenal os small arms.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    Wa Righty
    January 16, 2013 4:00 pm
    Well actually these weapons are useless against the Drug cartels you find on the Border,fully auto weapons trump semi auto every time
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • DesertRez wrote...
    Speaking of Odolph
    January 16, 2013 12:03 pm
    This is our first task as a society: Keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged. And their voices should compel us to change." - President Barak Obama, January 16, 2014

    "The state must declare the children to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation." - Mein Kampf (Adolf Hitler)

    Remember, it's all about the children

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    If it saves "one" life.
    January 16, 2013 12:51 pm
    Meanwhile the Democrats think partial birth abortion is peachy keen.Hypocrites
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sambra27 wrote...
    desertrez
    January 16, 2013 1:19 pm
    I guess everyone in history, ever, who has said something like "think of the children" or "the children are our future" or "(insert pro-child political comment here)" is automatically and equally comparable to Adolf Hitler, the guy who singelhandedly put in place measures for the sole purpose of murdering millions of people. Got it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maxwell161 wrote...
    Now guns are a problem?
    January 16, 2013 12:48 pm
    Interesting how the Obama administration never once called for stricter gun control after the previous shootings that happened in his term. Now that November 6th is past us it seems to be the main focus. The man is as phony as a 3 dollar bill, cannot believe people actually were fooled by him a second time.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    max
    January 16, 2013 4:02 pm
    Ever heard the term "the straw that broke the camels back" ? The recent MASS slaughter was that "STRAW"
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • artimus wrote...
    It's me! Ha ha!
    January 16, 2013 12:52 pm
    You're easily my favorite nut on this site. I'll make sure and keep your dire predictions for midterm elections in mind - you were so spot on in November. You're like an end o’ the world prophet that botches his doomsday prediction and then says "I meant next year!". Stay crazy, my friend.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }