Mental health record submissions for gun checks on the rise
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- States appear to be taking more action to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental health problems in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, new figures show.
Submissions of mentally ill patients' records to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System for gun buyers have more than
doubled since the massacre in April, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Currently, states are not required to send reports of mental health problems, which would prohibit buyers from purchasing a gun.
But after the shootings -- when a student with a history of mental health problems killed 32 people before taking his own life -- the number of submissions to the database grew from 174,863 during the first half of the year to 393,957 from July to November.
The number of states submitting the information also grew, from 23 before the Virginia Tech tragedy to 32 after it.
The majority of the new records came from California authorities, who submitted more than 200,000 entries, the Justice Department said. Ohio boosted the amount of entries from three in March of this year to 7,845 in November.
"Instant background checks are essential to keeping guns out of the wrong hands, while still protecting the privacy of our citizens," Attorney General Michael Mukasey said to the National Association of Attorneys General.
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Mental health record submissions for gun checks on the rise - CNN.com
States should be required to send reports of mental health problems and follow up when a permit to purchase has been requested.