WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill tightening gun control laws following the Virginia Tech killings by a student with a history of mental illness.
The voice vote approved providing states with more funding to add more criminal records and mental health information to the national database gun dealers use for background checks, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Both the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence supported the measure, the newspaper said.
The vote came as a report U.S. President George Bush ordered from the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice and Education was released. It found schools, doctors and the police weren't fully aware of what information could legally be shared, and that loophole allowed Cho Seung-Hui to purchase weapons he used to kill 32 people and himself. When he bought the guns, he was under a court order mandating he seek psychiatric treatment.
The Times said the Senate appears likely to follow the House lead, making the amendments the first strengthening of gun control laws since 1996.
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