The state government of New Jersey is expected to send to the FBI the names of up to 420,000 people from a list of residents who have been involuntarily committed to mental institutions going back nearly 40 years.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The names of hundreds of thousands of current and former New Jersey residents who have been involuntarily committed to psychiatric facilities have been added to an FBI database used to bar firearms purchases by people with criminal records or a history of mental illness. New Jersey court officials said that they began forwarding digital records to the FBI earlier this year and that they expect to complete the program by the end of May.

The state's list was started in 2010 but only 17 names had been previously sent to the FBI. 85 gun purchases were prohibited because the buyer was on the list, according to state judicial authorities.

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