Background checks need to be in place for people carrying guns. There has been two executive actions that have been put into place. The first executive action is to really clarify what is meant by “committed to a mental institution”. Because of the confusion the law now states that a person who was involuntary admitted will not be able to possess a gun. This came about in 2007 when a loophole was discovered and the massacre at Virginia Tech took place. The gunman bought the gun legally despite being in a mental health outpatient facility. The second executive action is that HIPAA would notify the FBI and the background check system if a person is deemed mentally incompetent. Some argue that privacy is a …show more content…
It restricted the sale and ownership of high risk weapons such as machine guns and sawed off shotguns. In 1968 the Gun Control Act was passed. It was passed because of the assassination of Martin Luther King jr. and Robert Kennedy. In 1989, there was a ban on imported assault weapons. Because of this landmark case the number of crime went down forty-five percent and in 1994 the federal government made it illegal to buy or manufacture lethal assault weapons. Also, this was when the Brady law came about.
The Brady law was adopted in 1993. This law stated that there was a five day waiting period to purchase a handgun. It was named after President Ronald Regean’s press secretary who was wounded during a failed assassination attempt on the president. Brady was confined to a wheel chair and campaigned vigorously to get the bill passed. Then on November 30, 1998 it became known as the NICS. Since 1994 the law has stopped 2 million gun sales to people who cannot have guns because of federal