Bill To Keep Guns Away From Mentally Ill Moves Forward
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – The National Rifle Association is backing a bill that it says will close a big loophole in the law that affects countless people, but it has nothing to do with universal background checks.
Instead, the NRA has endorsed a bill that aims to block the mentally ill from purchasing guns. The bill was proposed by Representative Barbara Watson of Miami Gardens.
The bill will ban people from buying weapons if the person voluntarily committed themselves for treatment to avoid involuntary commitment, and then check themselves out of the facilities.
Watson said her bill will prevent those people from ending up armed.
Nationally, the NRA, which lobbies on behalf of the gun-making industry, has opposed almost any gun control regulations proposed since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Instead, the NRA has sought to blame the shootings on pop culture and movie/music violence.
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