Some states wary on mental records for gun buys

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. states have put more names of mentally ill people into a database for gun-purchase background checks since April's Virginia Tech shootings, but some remain reluctant for privacy reasons, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The federal government pushed to get more names into a national list of people ineligible to buy guns for mental-health reasons after Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people at the university before committing suicide.

A record of Cho's history of mental problems had not been submitted to the federal registry and he was able to buy two handguns.

"We're making progress, and I hope even more states will submit this information so that the National Instant Background Check system can be maximally effective," Attorney General Michael Mukasey said in remarks prepared for delivery later on Thursday in Utah.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2922771520071129?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&sp=true

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While I can see people being adverse to having their medical history included in this database, I do agree with creating the broader database where "denied persons" are all listed together without naming mental illness as a specific reason.