LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Gun legislation not needed

By:

Posted: 11/13/07

To the Editor:

Whenever a tragedy occurs in America, Congress can be counted on to respond in two ways. First, politicians craft a bill to "prevent this from happening again." Second, because politicians want to quickly tout their compassion, the legislation itself tends to be a hastily drafted montage of good intentions and unintended consequences.

Today, we are being told that H.R. 2640, the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, which will put mentally ill people in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), will prevent another Virginia Polytechnic Institute tragedy. While this is an important goal, the bill itself doesn't match its good intentions and creates unintended consequences ("Putting a hold on needed gun reform: How one senator subverts the will of the American people," Nov. 6 issue).

This debate is being driven by two myths about H.R. 2640. The first myth is H.R. 2640 strengthens the law to block dangerously ill people, like Seung-Hui Cho, from buying firearms. The fact is the underlying law regulating who is prohibited from buying and possessing a gun is not altered by this bill. The existing law already required Virginia to forward Cho's name to the NICS database. Virginia recognized it was not complying with the federal requirement leading Governor Tim Kaine to issue executive order No. 50 to change the way his State reported those who are involuntarily committed to a mental institution for treatment.

The second myth is that if this bill had been in place, the Virginia Tech tragedy would not have occurred. The fact is the law is not changed by this bill. If the states, Virginia specifically, had been in full compliance with federal reporting requirements, Cho would not have been able to buy a gun.

The bill's supporters cite the $400 million it authorizes as reason to believe states will increase compliance. This is simply not the case. Title 42 U.S. Code 14601 authorized a grant program to help states comply with the transmittal of information required by the Brady bill (NICS compliance). This program was authorized at $250 million for fiscal years 2002 through 2007; however, in the two most recent fiscal years, it received only $10 million. Congress was so busy earmarking funds to its pet projects it never bothered to make NICS compliance a priority.

The unintended consequences of H.R. 2640 could turn innocent Americans into felons. For instance, if an American serving in Iraq suffers a traumatic brain injury and goes through a recovery period in which he "lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs (a key test in the bill for mental impairment)," he will be placed on the NICS watch list for life. However, he will receive no notice he is on that list. Ten years later, that same veteran and could be charged with a felony for buying a gun to take his son hunting. He also will have to pay his own legal fees to regain his constitutional rights under H.R. 2640.

Finally, my objections to this bill are not keeping the Senate from voting on this issue. I will not give my consent for H.R. 2640 to pass unanimously, but the Senate leadership may still bring the bill up for a vote. So far, they have decided against doing so.

Every American who was touched by the Virginia Tech tragedy, particularly the families of the victims, deserve Congress' best effort, not another hastily crafted bill that has more to do with protecting politicians than the public.

-Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., M.D