Gov. Chafee signs Cool Rumsey bill to improve RI background checks

Ceremony highlights Behavioral Health and Firearms Safety Task Force’s legislation

The Governor is flanked by the bill's main co-sponsors - House sponsor
Rep. Deb Ruggiero to the left and Senator Cathie Cool Rumsey to the
right. Don't know who the guy photo-bombing the shot is,

STATE HOUSE – With a ceremonial signing by the governor yesterday, a new law will take effect Jan. 1 requiring Rhode Island to submit more data to the national database used to screen gun purchases, as recommended by the task force that studied the nexus of mental health laws and gun rights following the 2012 Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

The legislation, which passed unanimously in both chambers of the General Assembly this year, was sponsored by Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown) and Sen. Catherine Cool Rumsey (D-Dist. 34, Exeter, Charlestown, Hopkinton, Richmond, West Greenwich), who were co-chairwomen of the 20-member Joint Behavioral Health and Firearms Safety Task Force.

The legislation (2014-H 7939A, 2014-H 2774A ) enacts the task force’s major recommendation: that Rhode Island begin submitting limited additional information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) about people who are involuntarily committed in court for mental health treatment and pose a threat of violence to themselves or others. 

Rhode Island already submits relevant criminal records to NICS, and requires all gun purchasers to submit to a NICS check to ensure they are not disqualified from owning a gun.

Under the new law, District Court, which adjudicates involuntary commitment of individuals to mental health care, will submit limited information to NICS about commitment. 

Only those who are adjudicated in court, involuntarily committed as a result, and also deemed a danger to themselves or others will be included, and only enough information to identify the individual will be submitted, not any information about the nature of the person’s mental health issue. 

Those who seek mental health treatment on their own will not be affected.

The legislation also establishes a panel of mental health and law enforcement professionals to which a person who is disqualified from owning a gun under this legislation may seek to have the disqualification lifted.