US President Donald Trump signed a bill [press release] on Tuesday that revokes gun restrictions on those with mental illnesses. During the Obama administration, individuals who received social security checks for mental illnesses and were deemed unfit to manage their own finances were added to the national background check database. HJ Res 40 [text] was backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) [advocacy website]. According to the NRA-ILA executive director Chris Cox, this law shows the president respects the right to bear arms. Senator Chris Murphy [official website] stated [press release] that to undermine enforcement of this law, which provides complete information for the background check system, does not make the system better but only worsens it.

Gun control remains a divisive issue [JURIST op-ed], according to Allen Rostron [official profile] of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law [official website]. In February the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled [JURIST report] that Maryland’s assault weapons ban is constitutional. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh District earlier this month overturned Florida’s 2011 Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act (FOPA), also referred to as the “Docs vs. Glocks” law. Also in February the US Senate voted [JURIST report] to reverse an Obama-era gun regulation that required mental health information to be shared with the national gun background check system. The New Hampshire House of Representatives approved [JURIST report] a bill [SB 12 text] that would repeal the law prohibiting state citizens from carrying concealed firearms without a permit.