Gov. Tim Kaine (right) and Attorney General Bob McDonnell talk yesterday. Steve Helber/ASSOCIATED PRESS Visit the Photo Place

Kaine tweaks gun law loophole

Kaine makes changes in gun laws

By CHELYEN DAVIS

Date published: 5/1/2007

RICHMOND--In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings of two weeks ago, Gov. Tim Kaine yesterday closed a loophole in state law that allowed the shooter to pass a background check, despite mental health issues.

Kaine signed an executive order clarifying that people who are committed involuntarily to a mental health facility, even if that "facility" is outpatient treatment, are to be reported to the state police database that's used for background checks on gun purchases.

To be reported to the database, and therefore ineligible to purchase guns through dealers, a person would have to be found by a judge to be mentally ill and a danger to themselves or others, and the judge would have to issue an order for involuntary commitment.

But the state law did not specify that outpatient treatment, along with inpatient treatment, would require reporting to the database.

Kaine said it was open to interpretation, and that some courts did report outpatient commitments and some didn't.

Cho Seung-Hui, a student who shot 32 people at Virginia Tech two weeks ago, had received such a court order for involuntary treatment in 2005, but that didn't show up on the background check when he purchased the weapons he used in the killings because he was ordered to go to outpatient treatment, not inpatient treatment. Cho lied about that court order on a form he filled out when he purchased the guns.

"This is something that we can fix right now, and we needn't wait to fix this," said Kaine in a news conference with Attorney General Robert McDonnell. "We'll now take Virginia practice, standardize it, and make it consistent with federal practice."

Kaine said no one has surveyed all the courts in the state to see how they handle reporting of outpatient commitment orders, but that it's clear some do not report them to the state police for inclusion in the database.

The executive order applies only to court-ordered involuntary commitments, not to voluntary ones.

Kaine has appointed a panel to study issues surrounding the shootings, including any state laws that may need to be changed to help prevent such tragedies in the future.

Kaine said yesterday that the panel will continue to look at other issues regarding the state's mental health and gun laws.

Some of those other issues may be addressed by next year's General Assembly session.

Date published: 5/1/2007