Arizona Shootings Were Preventable

(Glendale, Arizona) The killing of two employees in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart Superstore appears to be an example where two conflicting laws precluded prevention of the incident. The suspected shooter, Edward Liu, who obtained his gun just days before the killings, had satisfactorily passed a background check in accordance with federal and state law governing sale of firearms. However, according to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), patients' private medical records are confidential and cannot be released. Therefore, the background check of Edward Liu did not include review of his alleged history of mental instability contained in his medical files.

In summary, one set of laws specify that an individual will be evaluated for the suitability of possessing a deadly weapon while another set of laws prevent access to the information necessary to comprehensively perform the evaluation. If anything, it seems the law requiring background checks for potential buyers of deadly weapons should override the restrictions on releasing private medical information.

See also Privacy Law Prevents Gun Background Checks.