Cracks in background check system give drug abusers, mentally ill access to guns

Gaps in the Federal Background Check system may be putting guns in the hands of killers, according to a new report by Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

The study entitled "Fatal Gaps: How Missing Records In The Federal Background Check System Put Guns In The Hands Of Killers," was sparked by the January 2011 shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona.

The attack left six people dead and 14 injured, including U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

The report finds two huge gaps in the National Instant Criminal Check System (NICS). The biggest one, and hardest to fix, boils down to a communication problem. Many states and state agencies do not cooperate with the system. The blame doesn't fall on solely on state agencies, federal agencies don't comply with the background check system either.

"Millions of records identifying seriously mentally ill people and drug abusers as prohibited purchasers are missing from the federal background check database because of lax reporting by state agencies," the report says.

A major concern for the mayors who put the report together was states' failure to submit records of people with substance abuse issues.

The state of Florida has shown improvement in reporting cases of mental illness to the NICS. As of 2011, they reported 40,775 mental health records to the background check system.

Florida has not submitted any records to the controlled substance file in the NICS Index. According to the Mayors Against Illegal guns report, state officials say Florida makes no effort to submit substance abuse records that are not related to arrests or convictions.

To read the full story and find a link to the Mayors Against Illegal Guns report go to the huffingtonpost.com .