Florida not checking national mental health records for gun carry permits [View all]

[SecularMotion]

Another gap has surfaced in how Florida screens applicants for gun carry permits: The state agency responsible can't access a federal database containing 1.6 million records of people nationwide with mental illness, the Sun Sentinel found.

Because it is not a law enforcement agency, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services cannot obtain information from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as "NICS", when considering whether to grant a concealed weapon license.

In addition to certain mental health records, the index has other potentially disqualifying information gathered nationwide, such as data on illegal immigrants, drug addicts, military personnel who have been dishonorably discharged, and people who have renounced U.S. citizenship.

Last month, the Sun Sentinel reported that Florida wasn't completing background checks for gun carry permits on those applicants whose fingerprint card submissions repeatedly were illegible.

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/florida-not-checking-national-mental-health-records-for-gun-carry-permits#ixzz208xwkB00