U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan helped introduce a bill today that would prohibit texting while driving – though she admitted to reporters that she’s done it before.

“I bet everyone here has texted, and we all realize it’s dangerous,” Hagan said during a news conference on the bill, reports Barb Barrett.

The bill would require states to enact bans on texting while driving or risk losing federal funds.

It comes after research released by Virginia Tech University this week saying that drivers who text are 23 times more likely to get into a wreck. Other sponsors include Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Robert Menendez of New Jersey.

A state study showed nearly two thirds of Tar Heels disapprove of hunting on Sundays.

The survey of North Carolina residents in 2006 found that 65 percent opposed legalizing hunting on Sundays, while only 25 percent approved of overturning the current ban.

Of opponents, 62 percent cited religious reasons for their objections.

Sunday hunting, which has been illegal since 1869, was also opposed by hunters themselves. The study found that 53 percent of hunters opposed legalizing it, while only 38 percent supported it. Of hunters who opposed it, 68 percent cited religious reasons.

Natural resource research firm Responsive Management and Virginia Tech did the poll as part of a study by the state Wildlife Resources Commission. Full results are here, a summary here.

The survey of 1,212 residents was done in June and July of 2006. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

Previously: Bill would end ban on Sunday hunting; other blue laws; pro-gun blogger against lifting ban.

Legislation that would help keep guns away from those so mentally ill that they are considered to be a danger to themselves or others is on its way to Gov. Mike Easley for his signature.

The House today joined the Senate in unanimously approving the legislation, which requires court clerks to report to a national data base those who have been involuntarily committed by a judge to inpatient or outpatient treatment and determined to be "a danger to self or others," Dan Kane reports.

Attorney General Roy Cooper sought the legislation after an examination of the state's laws in the wake of the mass shootings at Virginia Tech last year that killed 32 students and faculty.

The gunman, student Seung-Hui Cho, had been involuntarily committed to outpatient treatment by a court order. But he was not listed on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, so he could purchase handguns. He killed himself after the shootings.

The review found a loophole in the law in that it did not require those who had been involuntarily committed from being reported to the data base, which is used to prevent gun purchases by individuals.

The legislation also creates a process for those who have been placed on the list to be later removed if found not to be a threat.

The state Senate unanimously voted today to require those involuntarily committed and found to be a danger to themselves and others to be reported to a national database that prevents them from purchasing guns.

The legislation was changed substantially before the 49-0 vote. Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger successfully amended the legislation to prevent those who were involuntarily committed to outpatient treatment, but not deemed a threat, from being placed on the list, Dan Kane reports.

That amendment drew fiery debate in the Senate, as opponents argued that those involuntarily committed either to inpatient or outpatient care, are by definition a potential danger to others. The amendment passed by a 30-19 vote.

The legislation sprang from the shootings at Virginia Tech where a lone gunman opened fire April 16, 2007, and killed 32 students and faculty before killing himself.

That student, Seung-Hui Cho, had been involuntarily committed to outpatient treatment by a court order. But he was not listed on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, so he could purchase handguns.

The legislation now moves to the House.

A Senate judiciary committee approved legislation today that could prevent those involuntarily committed with serious mental illness from purchasing or possessing guns.

"People with severe mental illnesses should not be able to purchase a gun — it's as simple as that— and this is a process to accomplish that," said N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper.

The legislation, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand of Fayetteville, comes after a student at Virginia Tech opened fire on April 16, 2007, and killed 32 students and faculty before killing himself, Dan Kane reports.

That student, Seung-Hui Cho, had been involuntarily committed to outpatient treatment by a court order, but he escaped being listed on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, thereby allowing him to purchase handguns.

The shootings exposed what Cooper said is a big loophole in North Carolina law. State courts are not required to notify the national registry of involuntary commitment orders.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

Attorney General Roy Cooper today called on legislators to pass a law prohibiting gun purchases for mentally ill people who have been involuntarily committed.

On the eve of the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre, Cooper said he wants the legislature to direct county court clerks to report involuntary commitments to the National Instant Background Checks System.

"As we pause to remember the victims and their families, we must learn from these tragedies to make our campuses safer," Cooper said in the news release.  "One lesson we’ve learned is that people who are dangerously mentally ill should not be able to buy a gun."

Cooper convened a task force last year to examine safety at North Carolina colleges and universities. In January, the panel issued recommendations, including the idea of sharing involuntary commitment orders with the background check database.

Other recommendations included starting a Center for Campus Safety, coordinating work between campuses and first responders, and forming campus threat assessment teams to identify mentally ill students and direct them to help.

Find a copy of the report here.

Attorney General Roy Cooper's task force on campus safety presented its findings today after months of work in response to the Virginia Tech massacre.

"No one wants to think about something so horrible ever happening here in North Carolina, but it’s our job to be ready in case the unthinkable occurs," Cooper said in a prepared statement.

The recommendations include a request to the legislature to pass a law that would result in a ban on buying guns for people who've been involuntarily committed to mental institutions.

Campuses will also be asked to establish threat assessment teams to recognize students who are dangerously mentally ill, Jane Stancill reports.

UNC President Erskine Bowles endorsed the report, saying he was grateful to Cooper for focusing attention on ways to keep campuses "safe places to learn and work, even as we maintain our historic commitment to access and openness."

The recommendations are similar to those made by a UNC task force last year. Both panels were established 32 victims were killed at a mass shooting at Virginia Tech last April.

The full report is here.