Texas lawmakers weigh bipartisan bill to close gun background check loophole

Texas Bipartisan legislation may be possible for lawmakers to adopt. It aims to close the loophole in 2009 law to stop people with mental illness from getting firearms.

bill Sen. of the state Joan Huffman , The bill would have required courts to disclose information regarding involuntary hospitalizations for juveniles 16 years and over. It passed unanimously from committee with bipartisan support.

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This bill “meant to make the background check more thorough and hence make our communities and schools safer,” Huffman was a Republican and spoke at the hearing. This bill is in state Senate waiting for a complete vote.

After an investigation by Huffman, Huffman sponsored this legislation. ProPublica And the Texas Tribune It was shown that juveniles had been excluded from the national firearms background checking system. Elliott Naishtat (ex-state lawmaker) was the author of the 2009 law. He stated that the law would apply to everyone regardless of their age. However, the law was not applicable to all Texans after the massacre in May 2022. Uvalde The outlets discovered that juvenile information was not shared by local courts.

These investigations led to the Texas Judicial Council Ask legislators for clarification on reporting requirements for juveniles.

“Texas does not have a centralized source for statewide mental health adjudication information in juvenile cases,” TJC stated in their 2022 report that National Instant Criminal Background Check System contacts would be required “each of the more than 450 district clerks and county clerks in the state” You can create an exhaustive list.

Congress approved gun reform legislation last June that required federal investigators look into the state data bases for records relating to juvenile mental health. Due to the absence of reporting, these records wouldn’t reveal Texas juvenile court orders.