Firearms Checks Sought After Santa Barbara Rampage

(AP) - Law enforcement officers would be required to check state firearms records as part of routine welfare checks under legislation proposed in the wake of the deadly rampage last month near the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies have been criticized for not searching Elliot Rodger's apartment during a welfare check after his parents became concerned about his postings on YouTube. Authorities say the 22-year-old killed six university students, then himself, in Isla Vista a month later.

Rodger wrote that deputies would have found his weapons if only they had done more checking.

The bill by Democratic Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara was introduced Wednesday. It would require officers to search the state's database of gun purchases when evaluating whether someone might be a danger.