http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/13819909.htm
EX-POSTAL WORKER BOUGHT GUN 'LEGALLY'Gap in firearm laws allowed woman accessBy MICHAEL R. BLOODAssociated PressLOS ANGELES - When Jennifer San Marco sold her California condo and resettled in New Mexico, she left behind more than a reputation for racist slurs and irrational behavior.
When she crossed the border, she could buy a gun.
Authorities said San Marco used a 9 mm Smith & Wesson she bought in New Mexico to kill six postal workers, a former neighbor and herself in Santa Barbara County.
She had been prohibited from buying a firearm in California for five years after she was committed briefly for psychiatric reasons in 2001, officials said.
But that law didn't travel with her.
New Mexico, where she moved in late 2003 or early 2004, relies on federal screening for gun purchases. But that background check, state officials said, does not recognize the rules that would have blocked San Marco if she tried to buy a gun in California.
Her ability to buy the gun in New Mexico at a time when she was deemed a risk in California points to what some call a dangerous gap in handgun regulation -- a patchwork of rules that can differ from state to state, and from statehouses to Washington.
The case shows the need for "more rigorous national standards to keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill," California Attorney General Gen. Bill Lockyer said in an interview.
"It demonstrates the limits on a state's ability to effectively enforce firearms laws, because they are avoidable by purchasing a gun in a less-regulated state," he said.
Sgt. Erik Raney of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department agreed there are too many loopholes in gun regulation. San Marco "bought the gun legally" in New Mexico, Raney said.
The federal government prohibits the mentally ill from purchasing guns, but its rules for determining when a person crosses that threshold are different than California regulations, officials said.
The FBI, which maintains the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, declined to say if San Marco was in the federal database, citing privacy reasons. Spokesman Stephen Fischer said there is no requirement that states provide mental health records to the FBI for matters such as screening gun buyers, however some do voluntarily.
Many states have privacy laws barring such information from being shared with law enforcement.
San Marco, 44, went on her deadly rampage Jan. 30 at the Santa Barbara Processing and Distribution Center, where she once worked.
She was armed with the 15-round pistol she bought in August at a pawn shop in Grants, N.M., near her home. She had picked up an unknown amount of ammunition from a pawn shop in Gallup, N.M.
In communities in both states where San Marco lived, she was known for bizarre behavior, including harassing municipal employees, making racist comments and stripping in public.
California officials would not say if San Marco attempted to buy firearms when she lived in California, citing privacy restrictions.
Unlike California, New Mexico doesn't have a state-level registration system.
"All of that is done federally," said Peter Olson, a spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. New Mexico tracks guns used in crimes, but "we don't keep track of citizens and who owns what," he said.
Paul Castillo, an employee who sold the gun to San Marco for $325 at Ace Pawn and Antiques, said she provided a driver's license to show proof of residency and was not flagged by the federal background check required for handgun purchases there.
"She was like anybody else, nothing usual," Castillo said.
The federal background check "showed it was clear," he added.
EX-POSTAL WORKER BOUGHT GUN 'LEGALLY'Gap in firearm laws allowed woman accessBy MICHAEL R. BLOODAssociated PressLOS ANGELES - When Jennifer San Marco sold her California condo and resettled in New Mexico, she left behind more than a reputation for racist slurs and irrational behavior.
When she crossed the border, she could buy a gun.
Authorities said San Marco used a 9 mm Smith & Wesson she bought in New Mexico to kill six postal workers, a former neighbor and herself in Santa Barbara County.
She had been prohibited from buying a firearm in California for five years after she was committed briefly for psychiatric reasons in 2001, officials said.
But that law didn't travel with her.
New Mexico, where she moved in late 2003 or early 2004, relies on federal screening for gun purchases. But that background check, state officials said, does not recognize the rules that would have blocked San Marco if she tried to buy a gun in California.
Her ability to buy the gun in New Mexico at a time when she was deemed a risk in California points to what some call a dangerous gap in handgun regulation -- a patchwork of rules that can differ from state to state, and from statehouses to Washington.
The case shows the need for "more rigorous national standards to keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill," California Attorney General Gen. Bill Lockyer said in an interview.
"It demonstrates the limits on a state's ability to effectively enforce firearms laws, because they are avoidable by purchasing a gun in a less-regulated state," he said.
Sgt. Erik Raney of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department agreed there are too many loopholes in gun regulation. San Marco "bought the gun legally" in New Mexico, Raney said.
The federal government prohibits the mentally ill from purchasing guns, but its rules for determining when a person crosses that threshold are different than California regulations, officials said.
The FBI, which maintains the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, declined to say if San Marco was in the federal database, citing privacy reasons. Spokesman Stephen Fischer said there is no requirement that states provide mental health records to the FBI for matters such as screening gun buyers, however some do voluntarily.
Many states have privacy laws barring such information from being shared with law enforcement.
San Marco, 44, went on her deadly rampage Jan. 30 at the Santa Barbara Processing and Distribution Center, where she once worked.
She was armed with the 15-round pistol she bought in August at a pawn shop in Grants, N.M., near her home. She had picked up an unknown amount of ammunition from a pawn shop in Gallup, N.M.
In communities in both states where San Marco lived, she was known for bizarre behavior, including harassing municipal employees, making racist comments and stripping in public.
California officials would not say if San Marco attempted to buy firearms when she lived in California, citing privacy restrictions.
Unlike California, New Mexico doesn't have a state-level registration system.
"All of that is done federally," said Peter Olson, a spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. New Mexico tracks guns used in crimes, but "we don't keep track of citizens and who owns what," he said.
Paul Castillo, an employee who sold the gun to San Marco for $325 at Ace Pawn and Antiques, said she provided a driver's license to show proof of residency and was not flagged by the federal background check required for handgun purchases there.
"She was like anybody else, nothing usual," Castillo said.
The federal background check "showed it was clear," he added.
