Shooters Sometimes Exploit Limited Weapons Laws, Blind spots
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ORLANDO (CBSMiami/AP) -- The gunman in various mass shootings throughout the U.S. have at times obtained guns by exploiting limited weapons laws and blind sports in the background-check process.
The shooters at Sandy Hook Elementary School and San Bernardino, California, used weapons purchased by others. That shielded them from background checks.
In other attacks, the gunmen legally bought arms on their own.
President Barack Obama expanded mandatory background checks to gun shows, flea markets and online sales. But none of those measures would have kept weapons out of the hands of suspects in other recent mass shootings.
In Aurora and at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., men undergoing mental health treatment were cleared to purchase weapons because federal background checks look for criminal histories and court-ordered commitments for signs of mental illness.
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