State aims to close gun loophole

Washington state laws need to be rewritten to close a loophole that allows people who have been detained because of mental health issues to possess guns, Attorney General Rob McKenna said Thursday.

Citing the shooting tragedy in Moscow, Idaho, that killed four and the Virginia Tech campus rampage that left 32 dead, McKenna said the state’s firearms statute is inconsistent with federal law.

While McKenna gave the state high marks for its persistence in feeding names into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System commonly known as NICS, he pointed out that state law places no gun restrictions on people who have been ordered to undergo mental health evaluations or those detained for mental health reasons.

That gap in state law was amplified last May after Jason Hamilton, a janitor in Moscow, killed his wife, a police officer and a church sexton before shooting and killing himself in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church. Three others, including two lawmen, were wounded.

Hamilton had previously been ordered by a judge to undergo mental health evaluations. He had previous arrests for violence and a conviction for choking a girlfriend, and was barred from possessing firearms when he was arrested the month before the shootings for violating probation terms and was ordered into counseling.

Though he was prohibited from possessing a gun, he was able to buy a semiautomatic M1A rifle from a Washington gun dealer online or over the phone, according to reports, and picked it up from a Moscow sporting goods shop.

McKenna is pushing for changes because it is still possible for a person prohibited from possessing a gun under federal law may purchase a firearm through dealers because background checks will not reveal court conditions.

While the distinctions between state and federal laws appear puzzling, McKenna’s office determined in a 33-page report on the issue that federal law is clearer and more restrictive that state laws.