Editorial: Improved gun control

Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007 | 6:46 a.m.

Congress approved legislation last week that is designed to help states discern whether prospective gun buyers have mental illnesses that would make it illegal for them to own firearms.

The measure makes clearer what types of mental health records state and federal agencies must report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Gun dealers use the database to screen prospective buyers. The legislation also dedicates $375 million a year for five years to help states streamline their reporting systems.

States that fail to comply with the new reporting standards could lose federal crime-fighting funds. Those with good reporting records could be eligible for grants.

The legislation is similar to a measure that has languished in Congress since 2002. That bill was held back by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who insisted the legislation provide funding to encourage states to create a process through which potential gun owners who have been identified as having a mental illness can apply for restoration of their gun-ownership privileges.

Unfortunately, it took the April tragedy at Virginia Tech University - in which 32 people died in a shooting rampage by a mentally ill student - to prod Congress into finally moving forward on this important legislation.

As we noted in an editorial in June, a congressional investigation in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings showed that 21 million records involving people's past criminal activities and mental illnesses were inaccessible or lacked current information.

It is important that states do all they can to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them because of mental illness. This legislation helps gives states the tools to do so.