Congress Approves First Gun Control Bill Since 1993

December 19, 2007 10:11 p.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) -- The first U.S. gun control law since 1993 was approved by Congress on Wednesday, more than six months after it was fist introduced in response to the deaths of 32 Virginia Tech students by a deranged gunman.

The bill was approved in the House and Senate by voice without any objections, even from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), the only Republican to have objected to its approval because he said the federal government would not shoulder costs of successful appeals from veterans wrongfully denied the right to buy a firearm. Senate Democrats negotiated with Coburn to amend the measure according to his concerns.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), the measure's main sponsor, said the passage was "the best Christmas present" she could receive. McCarthy, whose husband was killed by a gunman on a Long Island commuter train in 1993, pushed the legislation in April, after Virginia Tech senior Seung-Hui Cho killed 33 students including himself using guns he was able to buy despite a history of mental illness.

The bill amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 by imposing penalties and providing financial incentives so states would regularly provide mental health records to the Attorney General and to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The NICS, which is supposed to serve as the central database regulating gun ownership, has been out-of-date because privacy laws have prevented states from providing records.

The measure, which is supported by the National Rifle Association, requires federal agencies to report a person diagnosed with mental illness, and gun dealers to use the database to determine if a buyer was qualified to own a firearm. It would also pay for costs of appeals from people who were wrongfully disqualified to purchase a gun, as well as clean the national database of inaccurate mental health records.

The White House has made no statements on whether it will sign or veto the bill, but President George Bush said in June that he was "closely following legislative efforts to strengthen the instant background check system." The measure automatically becomes law if the president takes no action in 10 days.