Bush Signs Bill Aimed at Preventing Severely Mentally Ill From Buying Guns

[babylonsister]

What do you know, he got one right. :eyes:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/01/bush_signs_new_gun_bill.php

Bush signs new gun bill

Bush Signs Bill Aimed at Preventing Severely Mentally Ill From Buying Guns

ANNE FLAHERTY
AP News

Jan 08, 2008 17:27 EST

President Bush signed legislation on Tuesday aimed at preventing the severely mentally ill from buying guns, in a rare bipartisan agreement with the Democratic-led Congress after the bloody Virginia Tech shooting.

The bill authorizes up to $1.3 billion in grant money for states to improve their ability to track and report individuals who shouldn't qualify to buy a gun legally, including those involuntarily confined by a mental institution. Much of the money, to be spent over five years, would be used to increase state feeds to a national system used to run background checks on gun purchases.

New York Democrats Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy introduced the bill in 2002 after a shooting that year in a church. But the legislation did not gain the momentum it needed until after the Virginia Tech shootings in April, and families of the victims lobbied to strengthen the law.

"Had it become law earlier, it may well have saved the lives of 32 students who were killed at Virginia Tech by another mentally ill gunman," said Schumer.

Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho was able to pass a background check and buy two guns even though a Virginia court had deemed him mentally defective.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Bush strongly supports the goals of the bill.

"We saw with the terrible shootings at Virginia Tech last year that an incomplete system can have tragic consequences," Fratto said.