Without much need for additional comment - Advocacy news

The tragedy at Virginia Tech has set the gun control advocates tongues a flutter.

In today's NYT - the following comments were made in a story - Mr. Cho’s ability to purchase two guns despite his history of mental illness has cast new attention on Virginia’s relatively lax gun laws. (EMPHASIS ADDED) And since states are supposed to enforce federal gun laws, the sales raise questions about whether Virgina — and other states — fully comply with the federal restrictions.
Virginia state law on mental health disqualifications to firearms purchases is worded slightly differently from the federal statute. As a result, the form that Virginia courts use to notify state police about a mental health disqualification only addresses the state criteria, which lists two potential categories that would warrant notification to the state police — someone who was “involuntarily committed,” or ruled mentally “incapacitated.”

But in the LA Times earlier in the week - Seung-hui Cho's recent purchase of the two semiautomatic handguns used in the Virginia Tech rampage was done by the book and in accordance with Virginia's firearms laws. (AGAIN EMPHASIS ADDED)

Cho bought one of the guns, a .22-caliber Walther P22, at JND Pawnbrokers in Blacksburg in February, a federal law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said. Cho then bought a 9-millimeter Glock Model 19 at Roanoke Firearms on March 12, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because federal law prohibits the release of information about specific gun traces.

The dealers involved did everything they were legally required to do before selling them to Cho, said Michael Campbell, special agent and spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives. "As far as I know, everything was legitimate. The background checks were done. They followed all the procedures." (Some more emphasis added.)

Authorities also found paperwork for the gun purchase from Roanoke Firearms in Cho's possession. At least four agents rushed over to the shop, where Markell produced the required federal form 4473 linking the purchase to Cho.

My comment - a fundamental principle of the American system is a federalist one. The NYT seems to forget that, but what else is new?