Massachusetts has submitted just one mental health record to the federal database since 1999 — apparently as a test — at the same time that the FBI has processed 1.6 million background checks of Bay State residents who seek to buy guns from federally licensed dealers. The situation has sparked concerns that firearms could fall into the hands of the mentally ill.

Governor Deval Patrick has twice tried unsuccessfully to get legislative approval for the sharing of mental health data. Both attempts failed to gain traction in the state Legislature amid opposition from gun-rights activists.

The governor renewed the effort earlier this month when he proposed universal background checks that include mental health information. Supporters said that momentum for revising the measure may have reached a tipping point in the wake of the shooting of 26 people in Newtown, Conn.

“You have to have state legislation to authorize the release of that information,” Patrick said in an interview. “I’ve filed legislation in the past, and I filed it again last week.”

Failure to share such records could lead to firearms in the hands of the mentally ill, potentially endangering lives, said state Representative David Linsky. In 2007, for example, the mass shooter who left 32 dead at Virginia Tech would have presumably been flagged had Virginia submitted its mental health records to the database.

“Right now, when somebody in Massachusetts tries to buy a gun or obtain a license, mental health history isn’t even taken into account,” the Natick Democrat said.

Under federal law, an individual deemed “a mental defective” in court or involuntarily committed to a mental institution cannot purchase firearms. To prevent such people from buying guns, the FBI can match mental health records of prospective buyers at federally licensed vendors through a database called the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. Created in November 1998, the registry has helped deny guns to about 1.5 million illegal buyers.

But to make that system effective, state governments must share data that include proof of citizenship, criminal and drug abuse histories, and mental health records.

While some states have taken the initiative in either organizing or requiring state agencies and courts to share mental health information, a handful including Massachusetts have lagged behind, leaving the system’s archive of mental health data wrought with holes.

California has shared more than a half-million records, and states including Texas, Virginia, and New York have submitted hundreds of thousands more. Fourteen states, however, shared less than five mental health records, and Massachusetts has submitted only one, according to a Mayors Against Illegal Guns report. It also noted that Massachusetts is one of 22 states that do not have official policies enabling or requiring the submission of such information.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns is cochaired by Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston and has called for states to pass laws permitting or requiring the submission of mental health information to an FBI database.

“Massachusetts has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, but there’s always more we can do,” Menino said in a statement. “Not every person is fit to purchase a gun.”

Patrick sponsored bills in 2009 and 2011 requiring state courts and agencies to share with the NICS all relevant background information, including mental health records. But the bills — similar to one proposed in 2011 by Linsky — failed to make it out of committee.

The Northborough-based Gun Owners’ Action League — the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association — led opposition to the legislation, arguing that the proposals did a poor job of defining mental illness, executive director Jim Wallace said. But the group is “absolutely in favor” of keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, he said.