Mark Kelly: Background checks on guns are "common sense"

The gun control activist says it takes less than six minutes minutes to fill out the paperwork

Published March 31, 2013 2:34PM (EDT)

Gun control activist and husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords appeared on "Fox News Sunday" this morning to call for universal background checks on guns and argue that they should include a mental health check.

According to Kelly, it only takes about 5 minutes to fill out a background check form, explaining that background checks are “not the burden that the NRA leadership says it is.”

Kelly agrees with the NRA regarding the maintenance of a mental illness database, however. He “would love to work with leadership of NRA to make sure we get those records in the system," Kelly told anchor Chris Wallace, arguing that the gun background bill currently being discussed in the Senate needs to have strong measures preventing those with known psychological issues from gaining access to guns.


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Gabrielle Giffords Gun Control Guns Mark Kelly Nra