June 23, 2008

Three Way Agreement Reached on Gun Bill

MHANYS Voices Opposition

The Legislature and Governor reached an agreement on gun legislation today largely focused on allowing creation of greater background checks for individuals with psychiatric disabilities to own or posses a firearm if they have meet certain criteria. The press release is listed below. We wholeheartedly agree that no one with a history of violence should have access to firearms. However, among the core groups of individuals who would be unable to own guns are individuals who had been involuntary committed in a hospital and have been a danger to themselves or others in the past twenty years. Many of those individuals have never had a history of violence.

For example, this means that if you were involuntarily committed into the hospital for a month fifteen years ago for an eating disorder, clinical depression or a myriad of reasons that had nothing to do with violence then you would be unable to posses a firearm fifteen years later. By providing the broad criteria of involuntary hospitalization, it becomes more difficult for certain individuals who have never had a history of violence to own a firearm.

We have been working hard on this issue with legislators and pointing out the discriminatory aspects of the bill. Also, our colleagues at NYAPRS worked hard to make changes in the bill and to the credit of the administration and the legislature they were responsive to some of the changes including the ability to develop an appeals process that would be less cumbersome and more expedited then the process currently in the federal law. That said, we remain strongly opposed to this legislation. Our memo of opposition to the bill is attached after the Governor’s Press Release.

We will provide a full analysis of the bill in the coming days.

GOVERNOR PATERSON AND LEGISLATIVE LEADERS ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT
ON LEGISLATION TO ENSURE MORE COMPLETE BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR FIREARMS OWNERSHIP

Reforms will Improve Background Checks While Protecting the Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners

Governor David A. Paterson today joined state legislators to announce an agreement on legislation that will allow more comprehensive background checks on persons who are purchasing firearms. The legislation implements new federal requirements enacted in response to last year’s Virginia Tech shootings.

The new law will significantly improve the State's ability to submit mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) index by amending the state law that mandated those records remain confidential.. The index, which was enhanced last year through legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, contains records concerning criminal convictions, involuntary mental health commitments and other events that may disqualify a person from purchasing a firearm. While those records are not predictors of violent tendencies, they give a more complete background of the license applicant. Federal firearms licensers are required to check the NICS index before selling a firearm in order to verify that federal law does not prohibit the customer from purchasing the weapon.

“Today I applaud my colleagues for finding common ground on gun safety. At a time when we need to address the persistent scourge of gun violence not only in New York City but throughout the state we must be vigilant in finding ways to reduce these tragedies,” said Governor Paterson. “We have a responsibility to improve the safety of our residents by disclosing information that could help prevent the type of violence that took place at Virginia Tech last year. It is unacceptable that in the decade since the National Instant Criminal Background Check System index began operating, only four mental health records from New York have been included in the index. This law will change that.”

The new law allows for information concerning an individual's involuntary commitment to a mental health facility to be provided to the NICS index. By focusing on this small population of individuals who may pose a safety risk, the law will help create a more accurate database of individuals who would be disqualified from purchasing a handgun.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said: “It took the tragedy at Virginia Tech to push it forward, but after five years of hard work the bill to make it harder for people with disqualifying mental conditions from getting guns--the NICS Improvement Amendments Act--is finally law. It's now up to the states to do the hard work to get their records up and into the system. And I'm pleased that New York is moving in the right direction to get as many records as possible into the system, without jeopardizing privacy.”

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy said: “I am glad to see that New York is taking such positive steps in its efforts to comply with the NICS Improvements Amendments Act, which I authored in Congress. Reforms like New York's will go a long way toward keeping guns out of the wrong hands and improving the current system.”

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said: ““Adding this additional information to the NICS index will provide a greater measure of safety for all New Yorkers. The inclusion of mental health records in the criminal background check system will address a serious public safety risk and will help ensure that guns are purchased legally.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said: “For more than a decade, the Assembly has advocated for sound and responsible gun safety plan that ensure guns do not fall into the wrong hands. The passage of this legislation creates an important tool in determining the fitness of potential gun-owners and helps to prevent against a reoccurrence of the senseless shootings that have devastated the national conscience.”

Senate Minority Leader Malcolm A. Smith said: “Governor Paterson and my state colleagues should be commended for coming together and just saying ‘no to gun violence.’ This law will help prevent tragedies like last year's Virginia Tech shootings by allowing the state to perform more thorough background checks on people who are purchasing firearms. It will also give the state greater ability to submit mental health records to the national criminal background check index that will help prevent a person not qualified from legally obtaining a firearm. This is an issue that is of particular concern to my constituents because of an incident involving a man caring a gun at St. John's University where a quick-acting student stepped in to alert authorities and help avert a potential disaster. Again, I commend the Governor for his efforts to protect all New Yorkers.”

Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, Chair of the Assembly Codes Committee said: “Our communities are safer when those who pose a risk of harming others or themselves are not permitted to purchase or own firearms. The Assembly applauds Governor Paterson for helping to improve public safety by providing a means of vetting dangerous persons and those suffering from severe psychiatric illness from gun ownership.”

Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera, Chair of the Assembly Standing Committee on Mental Health said: “It is essential that in a society where over 4 million new handguns and tens of thousands of other firearms are manufactured and sold every year, we strengthen efforts to keep these weapons away from those that pose a great risk to the general public. This legislation complements such efforts while at the same time not stigmatizing those in our communities who have mental illnesses. This is another step in our march towards a less violent society," stated, Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera, chair of the Assembly Standing Committee on Mental Health.”

Senator Dean G. Skelos said: “This bill will ensure that the state’s gun laws match the federal laws, particularly in the aftermath of such tragedies as the shootings at Virginia Tech and the tragic shooting of a priest in my own district several years ago. This measure will strengthen the law for the legal purchase of guns and protect the public against individuals who are ineligible to buy guns.”

Senator Martin Golden said: “This critically important new law will help make communities throughout the Empire State safer by preventing guns from falling into the wrong hands. This is a commonsense public safety measure that will combat gun violence, assist law enforcement and help to prevent horrible tragedies like the murderous rampage that took place at Virginia Tech last year.”

Senator Eric Adams said: “We must protect our citizens from the disastrous effects of gun crimes. The bullet from a criminal’s weapon pierces not only the flesh of our loved ones, but the emotional body of our family as well. Even the substance of the larger community is rent and wounded. Under Federal Law, the Virginia Tech gunman’s history of mental health problems should have made him ineligible to purchase firearms. State laws must be re-written, therefore, so as to be consistent with all Federal requirements. Adequate background information should be reported by state agencies and adequate background checks must be run to prevent gun purchases by people who have been convicted of criminal offenses or adjudicated to have mental health problems. The legislation we have agreed upon will enable the State of New York to submit information to NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) concerning convictions for criminal behavior, commitments for mental health reasons, and other information relevant to an individual’s right to purchase firearms. The voices of our constituents call for legislators to prevent gun violence. Today, we have responded.”

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Memorandum of Opposition

S.8478 By Senator Skelos

An Act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the transmission of data relating to the acquisition and possession of a firearm and ballistic identification.

The Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS) is opposed to S.8478.

This bill would discriminate against certain individuals with mental illness who have never had a history of violence from owning a firearm.

Under this legislation, certain individuals defined as a danger to themselves or others who have been involuntarily hospitalized would not be able to own a firearm even if they have never had a history of violence.

For example, under this proposed legislation, if someone lost a loved one twenty years ago and then went into a major depression and was involuntarily hospitalized for a short time and then recovered and lived productively in the community for the last twenty years, that person would be unable to own or possess a firearm in New York.

Also, this legislation is not clear on an appeals process. We are unsure, in the proposed legislation, what recourse someone would have to appeal their ban on possessing a firearm. Would an appeals process also insure that a person’s name would be permanently expunged from a federal roster if they successfully appealed the firearms ban?

For these reason, MHANY is opposed to S. 8478.

The Mental Health Association in New York State is comprised of 30 affiliates across New York State representing 54 counties. The organization mission is to provide accessible community based mental health services to all New Yorkers. For more information, contact Glenn Liebman at gliebman@mhanys.org or at (518) 434—0439, ext. 220