Virginia Tech mass killer's gun purchase may have been illegal says NYT

[AJ9000]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/21/us/21guns.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

snip:

WASHINGTON, April 20 — Under federal law, the Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho should have been prohibited from buying a gun after a Virginia court declared him to be a danger to himself in late 2005 and sent him for psychiatric treatment, a state official and several legal experts said Friday.

Federal law prohibits anyone who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective,” as well as those who have been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility, from buying a gun.

The special justice’s order in late 2005 that directed Mr. Cho to seek outpatient treatment and declared him to be mentally ill and an imminent danger to himself fits the federal criteria and should have immediately disqualified him, said Richard J. Bonnie, chairman of the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Commission on Mental Health Law Reform.

A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said that if Mr. Cho had been found mentally defective by a court, he should have been denied the right to purchase a gun.

The federal law defines adjudication as a mental defective to include “determination by a court, board, commission or other lawful authority” that as a result of mental illness, the person is a “danger to himself or others.”

Mr. Cho’s ability to buy two guns despite his history has brought new attention to the adequacy of background checks that scrutinize potential gun buyers. And since federal gun laws depend on states for enforcement, the failure of Virginia to flag Mr. Cho highlights the often incomplete information provided by states to federal authorities.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. WHOOOPS!!!!

Oh well. No biggie.

[TheMadMonk]

2. Gives the families someone to sue.

And, NO I am not having a go at the families. But at the culture of litigation that some will mistakenly turn to in their grief.

[bluerum]

3. The NRA and gun lobbies say the solution is to arm the public. How

about trying laws that work, and enforcing them instead?

More guns = more shootings. Kind of like more cars = more car accidents - only uglier.

[SaveAmerica]

4. Biggest flaw in the plan is that legality of purchase is determined

by paperwork filled out by the customer. If they're delusional, of course they're going to fill out that they have no mental problems. Do they think that no one would ever lie when filling out those forms?

[aikoaiko]

7. The paperwork is checked against the NICS data base.

We really need that database to be comprehensive and accurate. This tragedy may well be the impetus to make that happen.

[Thothmes]

5. Court

Not a special justice, a magistrate in Christiansburg, VA. What was issued was a temporary detention order good for only 72 hours. The psyciatrists at the State mental hospital examined him and determined that he could be treated on an out patient basis. The law in Virginia is a little on the abigious side as to whether it met the criterial of reporting to the NIBC system. Virginia is examining the wording of their law to determine if it needs to be adjusted for complete agreement with the Federal law.

[aikoaiko]

6. It appears the main issue will making sure the data base for exclusion is up to date,

... accurate, and involve due process.