NICS (H 7939A, S 2774A)

In June, the House passed legislation governing the transmission of mental health civil certification records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the database used to determine who is eligible to purchase a weapon under state and federal laws. Since October, the ACLU has been monitoring and testifying before the Joint Behavioral Health and Firearms Safety Task Force to ensure that any amendments to mental health confidentiality laws were minimal, and that the rights of those who have received involuntary mental health treatment are maintained. In large part because of the ACLU’s work, the resulting legislation affected only those who have undergone involuntary commitments for longer than ten days, transmitted only identifying information and no medical information, and allowing for the expungement of information from the database after a period of time. The Senate approved companion legislation in June.