Graham pens bill on background checks

South Carolina’s Senior Senator Lindsey Graham has written a bill that will improve background checks before gun sales, but it differs from one currently on the table from New York Democrat Chuck Schumer. That bill is set to be offered within the next two weeks. Schumer’s bill would require background checks at nearly all points of gun sales. The bill hit a snag this week as its chief Republican cosponsor, Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.), appeared to pull his support. The bill written by Senator Graham is more narrow and spells out exactly who a court could order a background check from. Under Graham’s bill background checks would be conducted on people found to be an imminent threat to themselves or others, guilty but mentally ill in a criminal case, not guilty in a criminal case by reason of insanity, or incompetent to stand trial in a criminal case. It would also include people who required involuntary inpatient treatment.