Rules Should Have Barred Weapon Purchase of VA Shooter

Rules Should Have Barred Weapon Purchase of VA Shooter

news.yahoo.com

McLEAN, Va. - A judge's ruling on Cho Seung-Hui's mental health should have barred him from purchasing the handguns he used in the Virginia Tech massacre, according to federal regulations. But it was unclear Thursday whether anybody had an obligation to inform federal authorities about Cho's mental status because of loopholes in the law that governs background checks.

Cho purchased two handguns in February and March, and was subject to federal and state background checks both times. The checks turned up no problems, despite a judge's ruling in December 2005 that Cho "presents an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness."

"On the face of it, he should have been blocked under federal law," said Denis Henigan, legal director of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I knew that this guy should never have had a gun and the laws in place where not enforce correctly. Plenty of laws already. Someone really screwed up on this, and there is going to be hell to pay for a lot of people related to the sale of the weapons.



news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

According to the same article, it was completely legal.

From the same article you quote!

Virginia State Police send information on prohibited buyers to the federal government. They maintain that the sale was legal under state law and would have been barred only if the justice had committed Cho to a psychiatric hospital. Barnett ordered outpatient treatment instead.

Initially states were required to provide all relevant information to federal authorities when the instant background checks were enacted, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruling relieved them of that obligation.

It's still going to be a legal mess. You wait and see. It's all about semantics with the legal system, lawyers, judges.

You know why they are saying this?


Because no one wants to be wrong, get sued, be in the media for screwing up and have political blood on their hands.

They screwed up and they know it.

This is going to be a political nightmare, since he was deem "mentally ill"

Originally posted by makeitso
According to the same article, it was completely legal.

From the same article you quote!

Virginia State Police send information on prohibited buyers to the federal government. They maintain that the sale was legal under state law and would have been barred only if the justice had committed Cho to a psychiatric hospital. Barnett ordered outpatient treatment instead.

Initially states were required to provide all relevant information to federal authorities when the instant background checks were enacted, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruling relieved them of that obligation.