McKenna calls for stricter law to keep guns from mentally ill

Prompted by recent shooting tragedies such as the Virginia Tech massacre last spring, the state attorney general wants to tighten Washington's law restricting firearm access of those who have had mental-health commitments.

Attorney General Rob McKenna said at a news conference Thursday that he wants lawmakers to change state law so it aligns with more-restrictive federal law on the issue. It is one of several recommendations his office has for keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.

In April, the Virginia Tech shooter was able to obtain a gun because a court order requiring him to get mental treatment had not been reported to state or federal databases, said McKenna. The man went on a shooting spree and killed 32 people on campus.

McKenna says Washington is one of four states that regularly report mental health commitments to the National Instant Criminal Background System Check System. But the system is not without flaws.

"We are not perfect," he said, adding the state needs to get better and faster on submitting the information.

Washington's handgun checks are done by several agencies.

A work group found that Washington court clerks often fail to submit letters to the Department of Licensing's "gun file," which keeps track of people who are ineligible to buy guns. It also found that the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) did not know about all the patients referred by court orders for involuntary treatment .

Under current state law, people who have been committed to a 14-day involuntary inpatient program for mental health issues are not disqualified from getting a firearm. Disqualifications start if a person has been committed for 90 days.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg hopes that this will change.

He said people who are involuntarily committed for two weeks may be stable enough to get released, but that doesn't make them stable enough for what he calls the "awesome responsibility" to own a firearm.

The change to the law to disqualify those individuals "makes sense for their own recovery ... but also for public safety," he said.

Those who are disqualified can petition through the court system.

David Weston, of the DSHS Mental Division, said that the public should not assume that everyone with mental illness poses a great risk to themselves or others.

"We want to protect the community from the small percentage that does pose a risk," he said.

Christina Siderius: csiderius@seattletimes.com