After the shooting deaths of 17 high school students in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, the public's attention has once again shifted to the role mental illness plays in mass shootings and the role the government can play in restricting gun sales to those with mental illness.
Each year, Georgia provides the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the records of thousands of Georgians who have been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment. Their names are added to the National Instant Background Check System that gun sellers check before a sale.
Unlike all other states, Georgia has a law that requires the removal of names from that list after five years.
What was the purpose of that law and how many Georgians are now eligible to buy a gun who otherwise could not?
Read the full story at myAJC.com.
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