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2/25/2014
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Firearms Safety Task Force recommends limited expansion of reporting to NICS database
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 STATE HOUSE – The 20-member task force that has been studying the nexus of gun rights and mental health law today recommended that Rhode Island begin submitting limited additional information about mental health actions to the national database used to screen gun buyers.
After studying the situation this fall and winter, the Joint Behavioral Health and Firearms Safety Task Force, led by co-chairwomen Rep. Deborah Ruggiero and Sen. Catherine Cool Rumsey, today accepted its report to the General Assembly detailing the many limitations the state faces in widening reporting of mental health or behavioral health records under health care privacy laws.
Rhode Island already submits relevant criminal records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), and requires all gun purchasers to submit to a NICS check to ensure they are not disqualified from owning a gun. The task force was asked to discuss and make recommendations about whether the state should also be contributing information about known mental health or substance abuse problems that are not associated with any criminal prosecution.
While federal and state health privacy laws ban health care agencies, such as the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, from disclosing mental health records, testimony before the task force indicated that state law could be changed to allow the court system to submit limited information to NICS. District Court adjudicates involuntary commitment of individuals to mental health care, and the task force recommends that the state adopt a new law allowing the court to forward to NICS the names of those committed in such a manner if they are also deemed to pose a risk of violence to themselves or others so they can be included in the database of those who may not buy guns. Those who seek mental health treatment on their own would not be affected.
The report suggests adopting a statute similar to, but narrower than Massachusetts’, to limit reporting of involuntary commitment to only those who pose a substantial risk of violence to themselves or others, not those who are committed but determined to represent a low risk of violence. It also stipulates that only enough information to identify the individual should be submitted, not any information about the nature of the person’s mental health issue.
“In light of events like the one that occurred in Newtown, we can’t allow those who have been adjudicated with severe mental illness and a propensity for violence unchecked access to guns, but we also have to provide some flexibility because a one-size-fits-all approach cannot be applied,” said Senator Cool Rumsey (D-Dist. 34, Exeter, Charlestown, Hopkinton, Richmond, West Greenwich). “We’ve found a way to make progress toward preventing tragedies, but with respect to the fact that we are also responsible for protecting individuals’ rights.”
The report indicates that if the General Assembly does indeed adopt legislation allowing the submission of mental health records to NICS, it must set up a system through which a person may seek relief of his or her disqualification. Federal funding is available to support the relief board process, which could be handled either through a new panel created for that purpose, or through the courts. The report favors making the relief board part of the court system, but says that more work will need to be done by the General Assembly to determine specifics about the composition of the board, and disqualification in general. For example, the Assembly would need to decide whether relief hearings will be public or private, how long a person should be disqualified from owning a gun based on specific mental health issues and what the mechanism should be for notifying individuals that their name has been sent to NICS for disqualification.
The report recommends that information on substance abuse collected outside of criminal proceedings not be reported to NICS, in part due to legal risk and also because of the potential chilling effect such reporting could have on individuals’ will to seek treatment. The task force did not learn of any other states that provide non-criminal records of substance abuse to NICS.
“This has always been a delicate balance between public safety, gun ownership and mental health issues. We don’t ever want to discourage anyone from seeking treatment, but this is an important step for Rhode Island to now submit mental health records of people who have been adjudicated and found dangerous to themselves or others,” said Representative Ruggiero (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown.)
Additionally, the report includes a recommendation that the General Assembly review state laws involving weapons and mental health to ensure that the definitions of terms like “mental incompetent” or “habitual drunkard” are clearly defined and consistent throughout state law.
The task force will submit the report to the General Assembly. Legislation would also need to be submitted to enact the changes recommended within the report.
For more information, contact:
Larry Berman, Communications Director for the Office of the Speaker
State House Room 322
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2466
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