JUDY WOODRUFF: Now back
to Sunday's massacre
in a Texas church.
As we reported, the
killer's past behavior
should have legally
blocked him from purchasing
the guns he used
to kill 26 people.
Our nation's gun laws
are a patchwork, varying
from state to state, and
requiring the diligence
of many different
agencies and officials.
William Brangham is back
with a explanation of this
complicated legal landscape.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In the United
States, the settlement gives
citizens entered right to
keep and bear arms.
The Supreme Court has several
times affirm this fact.
But there are some legal
restrictions on who can
purchase or keep guns.
Under federal law, to buy a
gun from a licensed dealer, you
have to be a U.S. citizen and
at least 21 to get handgun
or 18 for a rifle or shotgun.
Retailers also have to run your
through the National Instant
Criminal Background Check
System.
Federal and some state laws
designate four main categories
that restrict your ability
to get a gun: committing
a violent or gun-related
crime, having a
diagnosed mental illness,
known drug or alcohol
abuse, or crimes committed
when you were a juvenile.
These are all things
that would show up in
that background check.
These restrictions might seem
obvious, but not every state
has these rules, and not every
state enforces the
laws in the same way.
For example, in 23 states and
Washington, D.C., you can't
have a gun if you have been
convicted of a violent
or gun-related crime.
The killer in Texas, Devin
Kelley, should have been blocked
from buying a gun because
he violently abused his wife and
her toddler several years ago
when he was in the Air Force.
A 1996 federal law bars domestic
abusers from buying gun, but,
as we mentioned before, the
Air Force didn't report his
record to other authorities.
On the issue of mental illness,
a majority of states and D.C.
bar people with a history
of mental problems from
accessing firearms.
But it's by no means foolproof.
The great majority of
people suffering from mental
illness are not violent.
So, who determines
who is a threat?
Sometimes, an individual will
be flagged by the legal system
or by a mental health provider,
but, often, reporting
it to federal and state
databases never happens.
On the issue of drug abuse,
if you're known to authorities
to abuse drugs or have been
convicted of a drug-related
crime, 28 states and Washington,
D.C., will block your access
to a firearm.
The same goes for alcohol
in 18 states and the
District of Columbia.
And with each of these
restrictions, a handful of
states only block people
from having handguns,
not shotguns or rifles.
Of course, people can
often bypass state and
federal rules entirely
simply by buying firearms
from private sellers,
often at gun shows.
Those sales from one private
citizen to another are largely
exempt from any reporting rules.
This is what's known as
the gun show loophole.
It's estimated that almost a
quarter of all guns are bought
this way, with no background
checks at all.
Another loophole, there is no
federal system for removing
firearms if a person later falls
into one of these
prohibited categories.
So if you bought a
gun legally, but then
developed mental illness
or commit a violent act or
abuse drugs, it's nearly
impossible for authorities
to take those guns back.
So here's a crucial question:
Do any of these laws actually
make a difference in reducing
gun deaths?
Do they make us
safer as a society?
According to one analysis done
by the Law Center to Prevent
Gun Violence -- that's the
group associated with former
Congresswoman and gun control
advocate Gabby Giffords -- the
answer is clearly yes.
The center graded all 50 states
from A through an F on how
they enact and enforce gun laws
and then compared those
grades to actual gun
deaths in each state.
They conclude -- quote
-- "States with stronger
laws have fewer gun
deaths per capita, while
states with weaker laws
have more gun deaths."
Many gun rights group
take strong issue with
this kind of analysis.
They argue that fewer
restrictions and more
gun ownership is the
way to better public
safety.
For the "PBS NewsHour,"
I'm William Brangham.