Progress on Guns

It took too many years and too many deaths to persuade Congress to act, but President Bush is expected to sign into law today a measure that will make it harder for people with a history of dangerous mental illness to purchase firearms. That is good news, but there is more work to be done.

The new law — the product of a rare partnership between gun control advocates and the National Rifle Association — addresses a glaring problem. Millions of criminal and mental health records are missing from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System used to screen gun purchasers and block sales to people who are disqualified by law from buying guns.