Earlier in the week, this diary questioned the thoroughness of the background checks on Seung-Hui Cho's firearm purchases. Today, the New York Times confirms those suspicions.
At issue was the 2005 court ruling that found Cho a danger to himself or others, and ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation:
The special justice’s order in late 2005 that directed Mr. Cho to seek outpatient treatment and declared him to be mentally ill and an imminent danger to himself fits the federal criteria and should have immediately disqualified him, said Richard J. Bonnie, chairman of the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Commission on Mental Health Law Reform.
A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said that if Mr. Cho had been found mentally defective by a court, he should have been denied the right to purchase a gun.
Once again, is it too much to ask that we find out who guns are being sold to BEFORE the sale is made? Discuss amngst yourselves.