Using the time-honored Friday News Dump blackhole, the Obama administration announced new regulations intended to clarify and rationalize the issue of gun ownership in the case of individuals with mental health disorders that make gun ownership probably not a good idea, either for themselves or the general public. I first saw this when Charles P. Pierce picked up on it:
...Oh, if your power's still out, you're going to be able to find your way home by the light of the exploding heads.
The administration said that the Department of Justice will propose a regulation to codify who is not allowed to possess again for mental health reasons. It also said that the Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a regulation that would address barriers that don't allow states to share information about mentally ill people with the federal background check system.
Messing around with the gun issue on getaway day? That's a big old fk you to the gun fondlers. Well played.
The link Pierce includes above is to a
Washington Post report noting:
The White House says states often complain that federal law isn't clear enough when it comes to who is prohibited from gun ownership and also that they aren't allowed to share information about mentally ill people because of privacy laws, most notably the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
"The administration’s two new executive actions will help ensure that better and more reliable information makes its way into the background check system," the White House said in a statement. "The administration also continues to call on Congress to pass common-sense gun safety legislation and to expand funding to increase access to mental health services."
The Huffington Post has a bit more:
“We are taking an important, commonsense step to clarify the federal firearms regulations, which will strengthen our ability to keep dangerous weapons out of the wrong hands,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “This step will provide clear guidance on who is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law for reasons related to mental health, enabling America’s brave law enforcement and public safety officials to better protect the American people and ensure the safety of our homes and communities."
And…
“There is a strong public safety need for this information to be accessible to the [National Instant Criminal Background Check System], and some states are currently under-reporting or not reporting certain information to the NICS at all,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. “This proposed rulemaking is carefully balanced to protect and preserve individuals’ privacy interests, the patient-provider relationship, and the public’s health and safety.”
Justice Department press release
here; Health & Human Services press release
here. Statement from the White House
here.
According to the Daily Caller, there is as yet no statement from the NRA:
The National Rifle Association declined to comment immediately on the executive actions.
"Nothing to say until we have a chance to review the actual language of these proposals" emailed NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.