AG Alan Wilson To Support Law Tightening Mentally Ill's Access to Guns

At a Tuesday press conference in the Statehouse lobby, Attorney General Alan Wilson joined legislators and businessmen in supporting legislation that would require the national criminal database to include the names of mentally disturbed people. The database is used by gun dealers to run background checks.

The legislation, which has not yet been filed, was co-sponored Rep. Leon Stavrinakis (D-119) yesterday.

Stavrinakis drew up the bill after an incident earlier this month where a woman with a long history of mental illness pointed a gun at a staff member of Ashley Hall school. 

"We are not trying to change laws. We are trying to enforce laws already in place," Stavrinakis said today.

Wilson, who reminded the assembled media that he is a member of the NRA, emphasized that the bill was not about gun control. "This is not a gun restriction law. It is a reporting law," Wilson said.

At the federal level, Sen. Lindsey Graham also offered legislation that would limit the mentally ill's access to firearms. He too referenced the Ashley Hall incident.

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