Governor Timothy M. Kaine said the Virginia Tech massacre might boost efforts to require stringent background checks of buyers at gun shows, but state lawmakers probably do not have an appetite for any broad bans. At gun shows, collectors and other firearms aficionados can sell and trade weapons without checking the buyer's history. Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 students and faculty members before committing suicide, bought his guns legally through gun shops, not gun shows. Efforts to tighten the gun-show law die in Virginia's pro-gun General Assembly.
Unrelated to the gun shows, Kaine has previously said he may issue an executive order to close a loophole that allowed Cho to pass a background check despite a history of mental problems. He reiterated that possibility Thursday. Cho, a 23-year-old senior described as a troubled, often menacing loner, was ordered to undergo outpatient counseling by a court that found him a danger to himself. Only people hospitalized for inpatient treatment are entered into the federal database gun dealers use to check buyers' backgrounds. \"We are close to making some policy changes dealing with guns (and) dealing with mental health,\" Kaine said.<br><br>Post edited by: pintobuck, at: 2007/04/30 05:59
