WASHINGTON — President Bush signed legislation on Tuesday aimed at preventing the severely mentally ill from buying guns, in a rare bipartisan agreement with the Democrat-led Congress after the Virginia Tech shootings.
The bill authorizes up to $1.3 billion in grant money for states to improve their ability to track and report individuals who shouldn’t qualify to buy a gun legally, including those involuntarily confined by a mental institution. Much of the money, to be spent over five years, would be used to increase state feeds to a national system used to run background checks on gun purchases.
Also Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine proposed requiring background checks for everyone who tries to purchase firearms at gun shows.
In Virginia and most other states, people can buy firearms from private, unlicensed sellers at gun shows without going through a background check. Such checks are required for sales by licensed dealers, whether they are at gun shows or somewhere else.
Attempts to expand background checks in Virginia have failed repeatedly, but the latest effort has support from relatives of several of those killed or wounded at Virginia Tech.
