Crapo Supports 2004 Bill Funding Mental Health Courts

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo surrounded himself with weapons and Republican allies to promote a federal bill he says will help law enforcement agencies deal with mentally-ill criminals.

Crapo scheduled an event with reporters Thursday at southwest Boise gun shop, part of a push he hopes will redirect discussion recently focused on his personal and campaign miscues. A three-term Idaho lawmaker, Crapo is seeking to restore his image as a serious policy maker, not a man on his heels after his December drunken driving arrest and this month's disclosure his campaign lost $250,000 on a loan-gone-sour.

At the gun shop, he blasted Congress' and President Barack Obama's efforts to tighten gun laws. Instead, Crapo backs reauthorization of a 2004 law that, among other things, sends federal taxpayer money for mental health courts.