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Gun Control Advocates Call For Extra Effort By State Officials

Last updated on Sunday, January 27, 2008

(FORT WAYNE) - Indiana hasn’t supplied a national database with the names of people its state courts have deemed unfit to own guns because of mental health issues. But gun-control advocates hope federal incentives will change that.

The problem is that no state agency seems to see the reporting as its responsibility, said Paul Helmke, president of the non-profit Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence.

Helmke was Fort Wayne Mayor from 1988 to 2000. He's called upon the governor and legislature to step up their efforts to report to the national database, which is used by gun dealers for background checks on potential buyers.

Since 1968, the Federal Gun Control Act has prohibited people from buying a firearm who are deemed a danger to themselves or others because of mental illness.

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