[JURIST] US Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) [official website] and US Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) [official website] said Sunday they will push legislation in the US Congress that would mandate that states improve their system for reporting mental health records of gun purchasers to the federal databases for background checks in the wake of last Monday's shootings [New York Times report] at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute that left 33 people dead. US Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website], chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also said Sunday he will hold hearings [Face the Nation video] to consider the issue of guns following the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

Overall, members of Congress do not seem particularly keen to amend existing gun control [JURIST news archive] legislation, though there has been some support for streamlining state and federal laws regarding whether and how someone with a history of mental illness can purchase firearms. AP has more.