Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said Tuesday that he might be able to close a loophole in state law that allowed Seung-Hui Cho to obtain the weapons used in the Virginia Tech massacre without involving the General Assembly.
Cho, a 23-year-old from Centreville, was prohibited from purchasing firearms under federal law because a Virginia judge ruled in 2005 that the student was mentally ill and a danger to himself. But a technical difference between the federal law and Virginia’s statute prevented the information from being reported to a nationwide database that gun dealers check before selling firearms. Kaine would like to see that difference be eliminated.
“We are exploring ways we can expand the information we report to the federal database,” Kaine said after a Tuesday meeting with Korean-Americans in Annandale. “We are not entirely sure we need a new law. We may be able to do it by an administrative order.”
Virginia law allows a mentally ill person to be prohibited from purchasing a weapon only if the individual was committed to a mental institution. Cho received outpatient treatment during his brief stay at a Radford psychiatric facility in 2005, so he remained eligible to buy guns.
“Based on what we know now, it’s pretty clear he shouldn’t have been able to obtain a weapon,” said Gerald Massengill, the retired Virginia State Police superintendent who is leading an investigation of last week’s shootings.
Cho, who killed 32 students and faculty members before committing suicide, purchased a Glock 9 mm handgun from a Roanoke gun store and ordered a Walther .22-caliber handgun from an online dealer.
Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell is “currently reviewing” the difference between the state and federal gun laws but has not reached any conclusions, spokesman Tucker Martin said.
