By Phil Riske, managing editor
U.S. Representative Martha McSally has introduced a bill that would help prevent mentally ill people from getting firearms, multiple news sources report.
Her “Mental Health and Safe Communities Act,” also strengthens federal programs related to mental health in the criminal justice system by improving the background check system, enhancing the ability of families and communities to identify mental illness, improving treatment for mental illness and strengthening responses to mental health crises.
The bill comes at a time when a Northern Arizona University student was killed and three others were wounded Thursday by a lone shooter, who was arrested.
“This bill has bipartisan support and puts forward solutions that can actually make a difference,” said McSally in a phone interview with Tucson News Now on Thursday.
McSally said the bill is endorsed by a wide range of groups including the National Rifle Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the National Association of Police Organizations.
