Addressing Mental Health and Gun Access: The Case of Shane Tamura and Nevada's Laws
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police recently released records revealing that Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old man who carried out a shooting in New York, had a history of mental illness and had been involved in multiple police contacts. Despite being subject to emergency psychiatric evaluations, Tamura was able to legally purchase firearms, including the AR-15-style rifle used in the New York incident. His mother had made 911 calls reporting his suicidal tendencies and mental health issues, leading to police filing paperwork for emergency psychiatric care.
Nevada's laws do not automatically report temporary mental health holds to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), allowing individuals like Tamura to pass background checks and purchase firearms. Jeff Swanson, a professor at Duke University, highlighted the lack of reporting of short-term mental health holds to NICS in Nevada, emphasizing the need for stricter regulations to prevent individuals with mental health issues from accessing firearms.
Federal law requires individuals to be adjudicated as mentally defective before being prohibited from buying guns, resulting in over eight million names on the NICS list. Swanson suggested that red flag laws, which enable courts to issue emergency risk protection orders for individuals in mental health crises, could be more effective in preventing gun violence. Nevada has a red flag law that allows courts to confiscate guns from individuals deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Despite the existence of red flag laws in Nevada, the state has issued significantly fewer ERPOs compared to other states like California and Florida. The lack of training for law enforcement officers on how to implement red flag laws may contribute to underutilization of these measures. Efforts to provide training on red flag laws to police and family members have been initiated in Nevada, but the state still lags behind in the number of ERPOs issued by courts.
In conclusion, the case of Shane Tamura highlights the need for stricter regulations and better implementation of red flag laws to prevent individuals with mental health issues from accessing firearms. Increased training for law enforcement officers and improved reporting mechanisms could help identify and intervene in situations where individuals pose a risk to themselves or others.