bayboy42
Regular Member
imported post
My questions are in green text (yes I know some of them are rhetorical questions :banghead.
Virginia Tech panel suggests changes to gun laws Sweeping reforms for the Virginia mental health system also are recommended.
BY HUGH LESSIG | Daily Press9:12 AM EDT, August 30, 2007
RICHMOND - The governor's review panel on the Virginia Tech shootings has recommended changes to gun laws that are sure to spur debate in the 2008 General Assembly as well as sweeping reforms for the beleagured Virginia mental health system.
The report, which was posted online late Wednesday after The New York Times obtained a copy, paints a chilling portrait of Seung-Hui Cho, who went on a shooting rampage April 16, killing 32 people and then himself.
It also criticizes the response from Virginia Tech, saying it missed warning signs about Cho's mental instability and erred in not issuing a campus-wide alert after Cho killed his first two victims.
Looking forward, the panel that was handpicked by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine makes several suggestions that could impact colleges and universities on the Peninsula and around the state, as well as people who purchase firearms.
Among its recommendations:
However, the report concludes that "Cho himself was the biggest impediment to stabilizing his mental health."
For example, he denied having previously received treatment when evaluated in the fall of 2005. And the report says, "he, ultimately, is the primary person responsible for April 16, 2007; to imply otherwise would be wrong."
My questions are in green text (yes I know some of them are rhetorical questions :banghead.
Virginia Tech panel suggests changes to gun laws Sweeping reforms for the Virginia mental health system also are recommended.
BY HUGH LESSIG | Daily Press9:12 AM EDT, August 30, 2007
RICHMOND - The governor's review panel on the Virginia Tech shootings has recommended changes to gun laws that are sure to spur debate in the 2008 General Assembly as well as sweeping reforms for the beleagured Virginia mental health system.
The report, which was posted online late Wednesday after The New York Times obtained a copy, paints a chilling portrait of Seung-Hui Cho, who went on a shooting rampage April 16, killing 32 people and then himself.
It also criticizes the response from Virginia Tech, saying it missed warning signs about Cho's mental instability and erred in not issuing a campus-wide alert after Cho killed his first two victims.
Looking forward, the panel that was handpicked by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine makes several suggestions that could impact colleges and universities on the Peninsula and around the state, as well as people who purchase firearms.
Among its recommendations:
- The state should not impose required levels of security at all colleges and universties. Rather, it should "let the institutions choose what they think is appropriate."
- Virginia should require background checks for all firearms sales, including those at gun shows. Gun-rights groups have consistently opposed this measure, saying that sales from private dealers at shows are relatively insignificant compared with other sources of purchases. How does this fit into the context of what happened at VT? Did cho obtain his weapons through a private sale or a gun show?
- The panel recommends that guns be banned on campus grounds and in buildings unless required by law. But it also says the General Assembly should pass a law in 2008 "clearly establishing the right of every institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to regulate the possession of firearms on campus if it so desires." Because Cho (or anyone else intent on committing murder) would abide by this ban?
- In mental health, it recommends lengthening the time for temporary detention to permit a more thorough examination. Cho was detained under a temporary detention order, or TDO, and ordered into outpatient treatment.
- The number of "secure crisis stabliization units" should be expanded where required so someone who is subject to a TDO does not have to wait for an available bed.
- The panel recommends expanding the types of cases where someone can be committed against his or her will. It says commitment criteria should be changed "to allow involuntary treatment in a broader range of cases involving severe mental illness." Some mental health experts have called for this type of change, however it could result in more people being admitted into the system, thereby requiring more taxpayers' dollars.
However, the report concludes that "Cho himself was the biggest impediment to stabilizing his mental health."
For example, he denied having previously received treatment when evaluated in the fall of 2005. And the report says, "he, ultimately, is the primary person responsible for April 16, 2007; to imply otherwise would be wrong."