| US House passes gun control bill
BBC NEWS | World | Americas | US House passes gun control bill Quote:
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would bolster background checks on gun buyers.
If it passes the Senate, it will be the first major gun control law since 1994.
It was drafted after April's Virginia Tech massacre, which exposed how gunman Cho Seung-hui was able to buy two guns despite having mental health problems.
The new bill would close a gap by requiring states to automate reporting of mental health and criminal records to a database used to check gun buyers.
To become law, the measure must be approved by the Senate and be signed by President George W Bush.
The bill came as a White House report on the Virginia Tech shootings was released which said concerns over privacy laws meant data on potentially dangerous students often did not make it on to the federal gun purchase database.
A judge had ruled Cho needed mental health treatment but because the report never made it into federal records, he was able legally to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people and himself.
| I think this is an excellent move. Stop the nutbags from getting armed. Sounds good to me.
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