After the massacre at Virginia Tech in 2007, Congress did manage to pass a modest measure that was designed to provide money to states to improve the federal background check system. But the N.R.A. secured a broad concession in the legislation, which pushed states to allow people with histories of mental illness to petition to have their gun rights restored.
More: Silent Since Shootings, N.R.A. Could Face Challenge to Political Power - The New York Times
As a condition of its support for the measure, the National Rifle Association extracted a concession: the inclusion of a mechanism for restoring firearms rights to those who lost them for mental health reasons.
More: Some With Histories of Mental Illness Petition to Get Their Gun Rights Back - The New York Times