New Law Aims To Keep Mentally Ill From Buying Guns

A law aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of those who suffer from mental illness went into effect within the last week.

Before July 1, information about a person being found mentally incompetent in court wouldn’t show up on a background check.

“That’s not information that we would have had access to in the past,” said Felicia Jackson, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s handgun licensing manager.

A person could be deemed mentally incompetent in court, but if they never ended up in a mental health facility, the FBI and OSBI would never know about those issues.

Now, court clerks will provide those details for a background check when a person is purchasing a gun.

“All of that information will be reported to the FBI and OSBI in real time,” Jackson said.

The other aspect of this law allows people to have their gun rights restored if the courts go back and rule a person "mentally competent."

That right could not be restored before the new law went into effect.