COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann said Friday that for the last four years a state law to prevent people with mental problems from purchasing guns was not followed properly.

The same mistake allowed people with mental problems to obtain a concealed weapons permit.

At a news conference, Dann said he was appalled by the failure of the state to follow the law.

Dann said on April 19 that his staff discovered mandatory background checks did not include information from doctors and probate courts on people who have been judged mentally incompetent. The check for mental problems is mandated by law. Dann said he was unsure why it was not done.

The mistake came under the previous administration and has since been fixed.

His staff cross-checked the list of 100,000 people in Ohio with a permit to carry a concealed weapon against the list of 12,000 people who have been judged mentally incompetent.

They found one resident of Summit County and one from Lorain County who were improperly allowed a permit. Two other people from Lucas County were issued permits, but those permits are no longer active.

Dann said other people with mental problems may have been allowed to purchase guns. He said a review of gun purchase records is ongoing.

Dann told reporters, “It is notable that this failure came to light shortly after the tragedy at Virginia Tech. The fact is that somebody equally as disturbed could have received a CCW permit in Ohio because of the previous administration’s failure to perform these checks.”

Dann added, “My office will not allow this to be left to luck or chance in the future. Fortunately, in this case, there has not been any kind of occurrence or incidence that we all would have regretted as a result of this.”

Jim.otte@whiotv.com