More Mentally Ill Barred From Gun Buying

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey addresses the media at the National Association of Attorneys General Annual Winter Meeting, Nov. 29, 2007 near Park City, Utah. A federal list of mentally ill people barred from buying guns has doubled in size since the Virginia Tech shootings, and Mukasey encouraged more states Thursday to add information to the database. (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson) (Steve C Wilson - AP)

National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the gun-rights group has no problem with the database.

"It has always been our position that whoever has been adjudicated as mentally defective or deemed to be a danger to themselves, others or suicidal, that their name be included in the national incident check system," he said.

Ron Honberg, legal director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, was not surprised that more states are reporting since the Virginia Tech shooting. "We're uneasy about it," he said. "We're concerned that in the minds of many, mental illness is, per se, equated with violence."

The list could have the names of people who were ill decades ago but have received treatment and are well, or information from the database could be used for unintended purposes, Honberg said.

"It frustrates us that when tragedies like Virginia Tech occur, the focus is on guns and not how somebody like Cho falls through the cracks," Honberg said.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat, said he was pleased to hear Mukasey urging greater cooperation among states.

He said Arizona was one of the first to submit mental-health records. He wants the federal government to consider relaxing some privacy laws so colleges would have access to the records. "Obviously, privacy has to be considered, but we have some harmful powder kegs out there who are older than 18," Goddard said.

The attorneys general from 33 states gave Mukasey's speech polite applause. Several of the top state lawyers told reporters afterward that Mukasey's biggest challenge will be restoring morale in the Justice Department.

"I think having a new attorney general will help tremendously," said Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett, a Republican appointee. "I think many of my colleagues agree he commands enormous respect."

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, a Republican, said that Mukasey, in a private meeting with some of the attorneys general, said fighting terrorism and combating violent crime would be among his top priorities.

Wasden said Mukasey did not talk about the legality of waterboarding, a brutal interrogation technique that creates the sensation of drowning.

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Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan contributed to this story from Washington.