WASHINGTON — The gunman in the mass shootings at the Washington Navy Yard, Aaron Alexis, had a history of violent outbursts, was at least twice accused of firing guns in anger and was in the early stages of treatment for serious mental problems, according to court records and U.S. law enforcement officials.
But Alexis apparently managed to exploit seams in the nation’s patchwork of complicated gun laws designed to keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous people. He was able to buy a shotgun in Virginia with out-of-state identification, even though that would have prevented him from buying a handgun.
It is illegal for gun dealers to sell handguns to out-of-state buyers, but the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act, passed by Congress in 1986, opened up interstate sales for shotguns and rifles. Virginia gun laws require only that an out-of-state buyer show valid identification, pass a background check and otherwise abide by state laws in order to buy a shotgun in the state. Alexis was never prosecuted for the two misdemeanors involving guns.
Alexis bought the shotgun at Sharpshooters Small Arms Range in Lorton, Va., on Saturday, according to a statement from the attorney for the gun range.
Michael Slocum said in an e-mail that Alexis rented a rifle, bought ammo and used the range before buying the shotgun and 24 shells. Slocum said Alexis passed a federal background check.
Law enforcement officials visited the range Monday, reviewing the store’s video and other records.
“What the 1986 Firearms Owners’ Protection Act did was it made it more convenient for gun buyers,” said Kristen Rand, the legislative director at the Violence Policy Center. “That’s the road we’ve been on for a while: The convenience of gun owner always seems to trump the right of victims not to be shot.”
Federal gun laws bar the mentally ill from legally buying guns from licensed dealers. But the law requires that someone be involuntarily committed to a mental health facility or declared mentally ill by a judge, and that information must be reported to the FBI in order to appear on a background checks.
But like other recently accused mass shooters, Alexis was never declared mentally ill by a judge or committed to a hospital. He was being treated by the Veterans Administration as recently as August, according to two law enforcement officials, but the Navy had not declared him mentally unfit.
After the December massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, U.S. lawmakers pushed to overhaul gun laws. Among the proposals was a ban on semiautomatics, including the popular AR-15, and ammunition magazines holding more than 15 rounds. There was also a plan to expand background checks to make sure anyone who wanted a gun got the OK of the federal government.
No legislation has moved forward.
President Barack Obama has made a few narrow administrative changes, but those are not likely to impact the kinds of guns most often found at crime scenes.
“I’ve taken steps that are within my control,” Obama said in an interview with Telemundo. “The next phase now is for Congress to go ahead and move.”
Some congressional Democrats and family members of shooting victims from the Colorado movie theater rampage and the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school planned to gather at the Capitol on Wednesday to renew their push for background check legislation. The trip, organized by the Newtown Action Alliance, was previously planned to mark the nine-month anniversary of the Connecticut school shooting.
