Montana has submitted just three records on the residents with serious mental illness to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, even as the number of records submitted nationally has tripled in the last three years, according to a gun safety advocacy group.
Now, a Billings senator is looking to craft legislation that would help the state comply with federal laws. Moms Demand Action Regional Manager and Montana chapter founder Nancy de Pastino said the legislation would prevent guns from getting in the hands of those with serious mental illness.
“We just want Montana to comply with federal law because there are people deemed by the court system to be a danger to themselves or someone else,” Pastino said. “It’s a fatal gap in the system.”
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, is a program managed by the FBI to determine if a person is federally prohibited from owning a firearm before they purchase one. The Gun Control Act of 1968 determined that anyone who was a danger to themselves or others; lacked the mental capacity to manage their own affairs; was incompetent to stand trial by reason of insanity; or was involuntarily committed for treatment to a mental facility should not own or possess a firearm. This information is used when processing background checks of people looking to buy guns.
While the NICS program can currently access the records of those who have been determined to be mentally ill by a court in Montana, the federal program does not have access to many records about those who have been involuntarily committed because the state has only submitted three, according to FBI data recently released by Every Town For Gun Safety. According to the group, New Hampshire has submitted two records, North Dakota, South Dakota and Massachusetts each have submitted three and Rhode Island has submitted zero. On the other hand, Oregon has submitted more than 29,000 records and Washington has provided more than 97,000 records. Idaho has submitted over 4,000 records.
Jennifer Viets, program manager for the state’s Criminal Justice Information Network, said Montana has submitted so few records because four statutes in Montana Code Annotated prevent the Montana Department of Justice from doing so. Those statues include a law prohibiting the state from discriminating against someone who has been involuntarily committed.
“Some people view the loss of gun privileges as discrimination, so until that statute is changed we’re not going to upload any information into the NICS index on mental health,” Viets said. “We don’t fee like we’re able to because of the law.”
Sen. Robyn Driscoll, D-Billings, a member of the Law and Justice Interim Committee, said she is currently considering crafting a law that would put the state in line with federal laws. However, she is looking to add language that would enable people who have their records submitted to the NICS index to be able to earn their gun rights back in the future. She is quick to note that the entire process is still in its infancy.
“I’m trying to make sure it’s a bill that would actually pass the Legislature,” she said. “We’re not compliant with federal laws so we’ll lose some money, but it’s minimal so I don’t care about the money. To me, it’s a safety issue.”