Approved by the NCIL Membership July, 2013
WHEREAS federal law prohibits sale of firearms or ammunition to any person “adjudicated as a mental defective or … committed to any mental institution” and requires reporting such court orders to the “National Instant Criminal Background Check System” administered by the U.S. Department of Justice;
WHEREAS much of the legislation to address shootings such as the Newtown incident in December, 2012 has focused on people with autism, mental and disability, in effect “profiling” based on disability rather than focusing on factors associated with more severe violence;
WHEREAS violence and disability have been studied intensively in the last twenty-five years and these studies have verified that people with disabilities are more frequently victims of violence than our peers without disabilities; and [Read more…]