Paterson proposes strengthening gun control laws

ALBANY - Gov. David Paterson introduced legislation Monday that would allow the state to tell the FBI if a New Yorker trying to buy a gun has been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility.

The proposal would disqualify those applicants from getting a gun, but federal law would require states to create a way for people to apply to remove their name from the registry.

The legislation is a reaction to the Virginia Tech tragedy last year, when a mentally ill student shot 32 people dead, then killed himself.