Md. Panel Recommends Seizing Guns From Mentally Ill Who Pose Threat

A Maryland panel studying firearms access for the mentally ill has recommended that care providers and others be required to report potential threats in their patients who own firearms.

The report [PDF], from the Task Force To Study Access Of Mentally Ill Individuals To Regulated Firearms, recommends that guns should be seized if a licensed health care provider, educator or member of law enforcement finds a person poses a threat that is substantiated in an investigation by law enforcement.

Maryland law does not currently require the reporting of threats, according to the report. 

The task force recommends that mandated reporting should apply to psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians and social workers. The rule should also should apply to addiction treatment counselors, educators, case managers and probation agents, according to the report. 

In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Connecticut last month, several state lawmakers in Maryland have introduced gun control measures for the upcoming General Assembly session, some of which touch on access to firearms by those with mental health problems.

Maryland's task force was formed in August, before the Sandy Hook shooting, after several other high profile mass shootings in 2012.