national mental health community are

concerned about a proposed U.S.

Senate bill to give incentive grants to

state and local agencies that report the

names of those who have been

"adjudicated as mentally defective"

when they go to buy firearms.

Since 1968, Federal law has required

state and local government agencies

to report the names to the

Federal Bureau of Investigation, which

oversees the National Instant Criminal

Background Check System. Most state

and local agencies have not complied

with the law.

Senate bill 2826, known as "Our Lady

of the Peace Act of 2002," would

change that by providing incentives to

report the names to the Federal

Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.).

The National Alliance for the Mentally

Ill (NAMI) objects to the proposed

bill on the grounds that the term

"adjudication as mentally defective"

in the document "encompasses a

variety of categories, including all

individuals who have ever been

involuntarily committed to a psychiatric

facility, without regard to the

seriousness of the disability, when

the commitment occurred or the

reason for the commitment." Any

determination (formal or otherwise)

by a governmental agency that a

person is a danger to himself as a result

of a mental disorder or illness could

serve as a basis for reporting the name

to the F.B.I.," NAMI argues.

According to that organization, the bill

does not contain adequate protections

to safeguard the privacy of individuals

whose names are reported to the F.B.I.

and sets forth no guidelines for

establishing regulations for protecting

privacy. It also objects to the use of the

language, "adjudicated as mentally

defective" on the grounds that it is

outdated and stigmatizing.

The proposed bill passed the U.S.

House of Representatives without a

hearing and may do the same in the

Senate. U.S. Senators can be reached

through the Capitol switchboard,

(202) 224-3121 or e-mailed at