No. 2 Senate Republican to offer background check bill

A top Senate Republican is moving to keep guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill amid growing calls from gun-safety advocates to strengthen background checks after a series of high-profile mass shootings. Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the second-ranking Senate Republican, will introduce legislation Wednesday designed to encourage local communities to identify gun applicants who are seriously mentally ill. The Mental Health and Safe Communities Act is backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), despite the gun lobby’s fierce resistance to gun control policies. Cornyn notes the legislation will “fix the existing background check system without expanding it.” The legislation will also provide more treatment options for people who are dangerously mentally ill. “While potentially dangerous mentally-ill individuals are often known to law enforcement and local officials, gaps in existing law or inadequate resources prevent our communities from taking proactive steps to prevent them from becoming violent,” Cornyn said in a statement. Cornyn’s legislation is a rare attempt by Republicans to tamp down on certain gun sales, and it comes on the heel of recent mass shootings in Charleston, S.C., and Lafayette, La. The shootings generated new pressure from gun-safety advocates and Senate Democrats to close what they see as gaping loopholes in the federal background check system. The legislation would encourage states to send the FBI the records of at least 90 percent of the people they know have serious mental health issues, using grant money as an incentive for states to participate, according to the Associated Press report...more