Gov. Kaine Looks at Gun-Buyer Loophole

CBNNews.com

April 24, 2007

CBNNews.com - Following last week's tragedy at Virginia Tech the issue of gun control has again made its way to the surface of many people's minds.

One of those people is Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine, who has said a he may have found a way to seal the loophole which permitted Seung-Hui Cho to purchase the firearms he used in last Monday's massacre.

Some have questioned how the disturbed 23-year-old gained access to the weapons in the first place.

It wasn't because his mental instability had gone unnoticed.

As it turns out, back in 2005, a court found Cho to be a danger to himself, and thus ordered him to have psychiatric counseling.

But because he was never committed to a mental facility, the court order never showed up in the database gun dealers are required to check before selling a firearm.

The governor's solution? Issue an executive order that would reinforce that reporting requirement.

In the meantime, students and faculty have returned to classes this week at Virginia Tech.

But for chemistry professor Joe Merola, the attempt for normalcy became too much. He burst into tears mid-lecture as he stood before his class of a 100 students.

"I lost it halfway through class," Merola said. "I burst into tears and had to turn it over to the counselors."

Merola, who'd been lecturing on an equation on battery voltage, finally managed to collect himself.

But as the end of class, students lined up to hand him an unexpected gift.

"Every one of them gave me hug. That was unexpected for me," Merola said. "We could use a lot more hugs."

Source: The Associated Press

Translate Page