Three Democratic legislators proposed a bill Thursday that would tighten control over firearm sales to keep guns away from the mentally unstable.

Rep. Mike Thompson, chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., introduced the Safer Communities Act of 2015, which "prohibits the purchase or possession of a firearm by individuals subject to involuntary outpatient commitment" if the courts deem them to "pose a danger to themselves or others."

That refers to people with mental incapacities who are able to live outside a hospital, but may be subject to a return to a hospital. Current legislation only prohibits gun sales to so-called "inpatient commitments," according to Thompson's press release.

"[W]e can make our country safer and get people the help they need, while also respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners," Thompson said in his press release.

The bill would offer grants to states to prevent firearm sales to those with a "history of dangerous mental illness, substance abuse and violence." The bill would create legislation that would allow law enforcement to request a warrant before removing firearms from people who have a "probable cause to believe that an individual poses an imminent risk of harm to self or others," according to the press release.

The bill would also champion laws that prevent people who received emergency involuntary hospitalization because of mental illness from purchasing or possessing a gun.

However, the bill also creates a "minimum restoration standard" that would allow people to ask the courts for restoration of their gun rights one year after completing their involuntary commitment. This application process would require the opinion from a mental health professional before the judge would consider the request, the press release said.

"While those suffering from mental illness are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crimes, we must recognize that improving our mental health system, and keeping firearms from those with other risk factors such as a history of substance abuse disorders and violence, goes hand-in-hand with reducing and preventing gun violence," Thompson said in his press release.

If passed, the bill would require the FBI to notify state and local police of instances when a mentally ill or other unstable person attempts to buy a weapon.

Thompson's bill would also help fund mental health crisis intervention services, mental health research and research on gun violence, and would bolster the submission of mental health records to the database used in determining gun-buying eligibility, according to the press release.

He said his focus is to protect communities and schools from gun violence by making it "less easy, less frequent and less deadly." The Safer Communities Act of 2015 currently has 18 democratic co-sponsors.