[Washington Post] Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that he is considering an executive order to make sure that gun sellers have more information about the mental health of potential buyers, a move that would have kept Seung Hui Cho from purchasing the handguns he used to kill 32 people at Virginia Tech last week.

A court had found Cho to be dangerously mentally ill, but that information was not available in the computer systems used by the outlets that sold Cho the guns. Kaine's proposal would ensure that such mental health information be in the database.
Because Cho had voluntarily introduced himself to therapy, rather than it being court ordered, he was exempt from a law that would have prohibited him to legally purchase a firearm. (Although, again, it begs the question if one willing to murder 32 people wouldn't have simply found a way to illegally purchase a firearm).

I'm not against closing the loophole that allowed Cho's access, and most reasonable people wouldn't be, but it's legally convoluted and nonetheless interesting that Democrats are all for protecting privacy and medical records (see: HIPPA) except when it comes to opposing something they like even less - such as the 2nd Amendment, or say, attacking Rush Limbaugh by trolling for an alleged but never charged crime. Then it's just fine to thumb through someone's private records.

Got that? To recap: allowing the government to search the medical records of al Qaeda suspects: bad. Allowing the government to search the medical records of someone either purchasing a gun or hosting a conservative talk-radio show: okay.

Everyone's clear now, right?

Labels: 4th Amendment, gun control, Privacy, VA Tech