"To what existing "reporting laws" is Bloomberg's group referring here?" The AZ shooter was a clear mental case who had been banned from school -- including requiring a physicianl's "clean bill of mental health" before he could return to school.
The dumb@$$ local sheriff could have blocked his gun purchase on that basis -- but let him slide.
The NICS check includes a field for rejection based on mental health. That was not done -- even though the warning signs were clear -- if the school MH issue had been reported to the database.
Maybe they are trying to sneak in a requirement for a MH clearance before gun purchase -- as part of the Fed background check.
The above is just my guess...
The AZ shooter was a clear mental case who had been banned from school -- including requiring a physicianl's "clean bill of mental health" before he could return to school. I believe the issue here is the threshold where mental patients are added to the "mental defective" file for the NICS system to find and reject.
Question 11 f of the Form 4473 asks:
"Have you ever been adjudicated mentally defective (which includes a determination by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority that you are a danger to yourself or to others or are incompetent to manage your own affairs) OR have you ever been committed to a mental institution?"
Since the school that banned Loughner was not a "lawful authority" on the matter, and because Jared didn't subsequently see a doctor to get a professional diagnosis - well, he wasn't legally barred from purchasing firearms.
Whatever Obama has in mind, it'll probably involve getting most if not all mental health records dumped into the NICS system - not just cases where people have been *adjudicated* as mentally defective. That will require revising the Privacy Act where mental health records are concerned.