by Joseph P. Tartaro | Executive Editor
While President Obama is vacationing in Hawaii, the White House inched forward again on Jan. 3 with two additional executive actions aimed at boosting the federal background-check system through the mental health approach.
According to materials provided by the White House, some states have raised concerns about ambiguous wording that makes it difficult to determine who should be barred from purchasing a gun for mental health reasons. The first proposed rule change, by the Department of Justice, expands the definition of the statutory term “committed to a mental institution” to clarify that the prohibition on firearms purchases applies to people subjected to involuntary outpatient as well as inpatient commitments.
The rule also clarifies that “adjudicated as a mental defective” and “committed to a mental institution”
include persons who are found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect; persons lacking mental responsibility or deemed insane; and persons found guilty but mentally ill, regardless of whether these determinations are made by a state, local, federal or military court.
“We are taking an important, common sense step to clarify the federal firearms regulations, which will strengthen our ability to keep dangerous weapons out of the wrong hands,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “This step will provide clear guidance on who is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law for reasons related to mental health…”
It’s unclear, however, what the repercussions of the proposed rule will be for those states that have, until now, allowed for some people who have been “committed” to obtain guns after they leave commitment.
Further clarification may be required from the Justice Department, especially to guide mental health institutions and state courts. There has been serious objection from mental health professionals that patients and their families might avoid some types of care for fear that their firearms rights might be lost forever.
The second proposed rule change, by the Department of Health and Human Services, might be aimed at resolving those concerns. It allows certain entities covered by patient privacy protections to submit additional information to the background-check system. The adminstration claims that nothing in this rule would require reporting on general mental health visits or legally prevent someone from having a firearm just because he or she sought treatment.
“There is a strong public safety need for this information to be accessible to the [National Instant Criminal Background Check System], and some states are currently under-reporting or not reporting certain information to the NICS at all,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “This proposed rule-making is carefully balanced to protect and preserve individuals’ privacy interests, the patient-provider relationship, and the public’s health and safety.”
A White House official told The Huffington Post that Friday’s action is just one of a series of actions the administration has been taking to move the ball forward in addressing gun violence, and pointed to a recent move to spend $100 million on mental health services.
While Congress has not acted on increased demands for more stringent gun control rules in the year since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the White House has continued to creep forward through a long series of executive orders. Mental illness was considered the major contributing factor in the Sandy Hook shooting and in several high profile mass murders including the Aurora movie theater massacre and that at the Washington Naval Yard.
