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.
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