I keep reading that Cho violated several gun laws when he bought his guns

[dsc]

I am wondering, which laws did he break? I know he broke several laws when he used them. But what laws did he break when he bought them?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I've read here

that it is a federal law that no one who has been diagnosed as suicidal is to be allowed to buy a gun. This guy was diagnosed and there was a formal record of it--but apparently the background check didn't bring it up.

[dsc]

4. I think this might well be a grey area

Unless Cho had to answer questions and do the backround check, and I don't know if he did or not, it seems unlikely that he broke the law.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. Again, some speculation, but

if he had to check a box that said "Have you ever been confined to a mental institution?" or "Have you been diagnosed suicidal?" and he checked no, he was lying and therefore breaking the law. One of the talk radio shows yesterday said that this is what he did, but I don't recall the exact wording of the question he answered.

[dsc]

9. thanks

I was wondering if such questions were asked. It seems they could have forwarded the records though.

[Jampoppy]

24. Required

I don't believe it is a question of could have. Think court was obligated to forward adjudication of case to both state and federal agencies if subject is found to be a danger to either himself or others.

[SidDithers]

2. Dunno...

but regardless, he was able to walk into a gun store and walk out a few minutes later with the Glock. If any gun laws were broken, it's more likely that it was the gun dealer who broke them, not Cho.

Sid

[Big Pappa]

19. I am not sure of Virginia's

gun laws but in Ga and Fl you must fill out an application at the store that ask if you are being treated for mental illness. If he marked no....then he broke the law prior to purchase.

[Bjorn Against]

3. My understanding...

He was apparently committed to inpatient treatment for mental health issues and ruled by a judge to be a danger to himself and others. That should have came up in the background checks but did not.

[Kagemusha]

5. If the federal government had spent money and effort to link the data

it would've come up in the background check.

My understanding is that the federal government did not, and has no interest under this administration in making gun ownership harder, even for the mentally ill.

[Eric J in MN]

6. If a state judge doesn't supply the information to the federal government,

...then it won't turn up.

Virginia is claiming they didn't have to supply the information:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=722930&mesg_id=722930

[Madspirit]

7. Virginia Gun Laws

From Rawstory.com


Buying guns, ammo easy under Virginia's lenient laws
Published: Monday April 16, 2007


Buying a handgun or rifle is relatively easy in Virginia, where a gunman slaughtered at least 30 people at a university Monday, but the state's gun control laws are not the most lenient in the United States.

Virginia laws allow any state resident over 18 to buy a firearm, including assault weapons, if they pass a check of any possible criminal background against state and federal databases.

According to the Brady Campaign lobby for gun control, the state merits a C-minus on a scale of A to F for the strength of its gun control laws, with 32 of the 50 states ranked D or F.

Buying and owning a gun in Virginia does not require a permit, but without a gun permit only one handgun purchase per month is allowed, and there is no waiting period to acquire the gun.

Those with licenses can buy more than one gun during one month. A non-state resident has to wait 10 days to acquire a weapon, or until he or she gets a positive report from the state police.

The law is broad enough to allow people to buy assault guns and magazines without limit such as AK-47s and Uzis, the Brady report points out on its website.

"Assault weapons are as easy to buy as hunting rifles," it says.

The state maintains "no restriction on the sale or possession of rapid-fire ammunition magazines that can fire up to 100 bullets without reloading."

The state does restrict people convicted of felony crimes from possessing firearms, and forbids giving or selling handguns to minors under 18, except from one family member to another.

But selling rifles and shotguns to children over 12 is permitted.

In one controversial loophole, people can buy weapons at second hand gun shows without waiting periods or background checks. Critics of the laws say it allows people to pay cash and take the gun away with no way to track them.

[dsc]

10. and 32 states have weaker laws wow

[bluerum]

12. Without some kind of federal regulation, it's impossible to control black

market gun trade across state lines.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

13. Heard on the radio yesterday

that in Florida, a man was at a garage sale where guns and ammo were being offered. He called the cops, who told them it was ok for this to happen, that there was nothing they could do.

My co-worker is disgruntled because in Arkansas, it used to be that before you got a hunting permit, you had to show proof you'd taken a gun safety course (this makes sense; the courses are often sponsored by the NRA, so there's no beef from them about this)--but his nephew bragged to him that he had been able to get a permit without having to take the course. This is just wrong in so many ways.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. Michigan is the same, for long guns

they can be sold at a garage sale, no problem as long as the buyer is from the same state.

Handguns can be sold, too, but require a purchase permit from the buyer's local law enforcement (police or sheriff) to be legal.

[PegDAC]

22. I know

My cousin was killed in a hunting accident in Arkansas 40-odd years ago.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

17. Even with federal regulation, can't control black market

That pretty much defines a black market - uncontrolled.

Like the black market firearms in England. They are illegal, but there's demand and supply.

It's harder to control than a drug market, because dogs can't smell a clean gun. It smells like a drill press or a washing machine. Steel and oil.

[billbuckhead]

20. Britain only had 46 murders with guns last year, a twenty year low

"Britain's 46 homicides involving firearms last year was the lowest since the late 1980s. "

<http://www.star-telegram.com/190/story/71387.html>

Britain's gun policy is failing and the USA gun policy is succeeding? Iraq proves the 2nd amendment works. How can one debate with people so disconnected from reality.

[bluerum]

21. No, but we can't even get a handle on the above ground market in

this country.

It is absurd.

[Madspirit]

14. No Law at All

One a month with NO permit?! *snort* Kind of like no laws at all.
Lee

[bluerum]

11. What. A. Joke. eom

[AZBlue]

15. Actually, that's not true. His purchases were completely legal.

"When Cho Seung-Hui purchased two handguns this year, he apparently followed the letter of the law to get the weapons he eventually used in a shooting rampage on the Virginia Tech campus."

More here: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/04/19/gun.laws/index.html

[Jampoppy]

23. Shouldn't have happened

If he were being truthful, would have answered Yes to box 11f. Nobody would ever acknowledge this, but application should have been flagged. When he was involuntarily committed in '05, conclusion was he was a danger to himself but not others. The adjudication of this case should have been reported to both the Virginia and US firearm monitoring programs. The ball was dropped somewhere in govt bureaucracy. More laws and regulations that won't be followed are not the answer.

[dsc]

25. actually the court in question is claiming

evidently with some validity, that they were not required to send those records. The guy apparently lied on his applications but the fact is even if he hadn't he still would have gotten the guns.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

16. Here's a form he had to fill out (ATF4473)

http://www.ocshooters.com/Gen/Form-4473/ATF-Form-4473.htm