Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Mentally ill people, drug offenders and others who are prohibited from owning guns often are able to obtain a firearm because the required FBI background checks have significant flaws, the New York Times reports.
The nearly two-decade-old requirement to conduct background checks of prospective gun buyers isn’t working as planned because many states aren’t sharing information on who’s mentally ill or has been tested positive for drugs, the New York Times has found.
Of the 50 states, 19 submitted fewer than 100 records of people with mental illnesses, compared to more than 100,000 records disclosed by New York, the Times wrote.
Rhode Island handed over none.
The Times revealed that states aren’t required to disclose the records, causing the gaps.
