Was Cho Seung-Hui the ideal gun owner?

Question

Legally allowed to purchase a gun as a resident (permanent) alien. No criminal record. Very intelligent and educated. Koreans are known to be extremely hard-working and motivated.

Anything wrong here?

Blue Steel, there is information that he was found with a receipt for at least one of the guns, dated last month. We don't know anything for sure.

But my question had to do with his suitability to own a gun. If he didn't purchase the guns legally, he certainly could have purchased them legally.

Paul Hxyz, there is certainly more to come out. As to filing off the serial numbers - should we outlaw metal files?

Answer 1

In Virginia anyone is an ideal gun owner. Virginia has some of the most relaxed gun law regulations in the nation. Here is a list of their gun law regulations:

State Requirements

Rifles and Shotguns
Permit to purchase rifles and shotguns? No.

Registration of rifles and shotguns? No.

Licensing of owners of rifles and shotguns? No.

Permit to carry rifles and shotguns? No.

Handguns

Permit to purchase handgun? No.

Registration of handguns? No.

Licensing of owners of handguns? No.

Permit to carry handguns? Yes. A permit is required if concealed.

Other Requirements

Is there a State waiting period? No.

Answer 2

What's wrong is that he either bought illegal guns on the street that had their serial numbers already ground off, or he purchased guns and filed them down himself.
If you go with the assumption that he purchased them legally, every state has a 2 week waiting period on handgun purchases (see the Brady Bill); the gun dealer submits the purchasers paperwork to the state and a minimal background check is done. Since Mr. Seung-Hi probably had no criminal record, and no evidenceof mental illness such as a 72 hour hold or a court order prohibiting him from owning a firearm, and assuming he purchased the guns legally, the state probably OK'd his purchase.
I am going with the assumption that he got angry over being rebuffed by the first girl that he murdered, and went out on the street somewhere and purchased these two guns. It is also likely that, since his parents owned a business with a high incidence of cash purchases, they may have obtained the guns illegally for protection from robbers, and he simply took the guns from their business.
I am sure that the FBI, in the course of their investigation, will obtain the serial numbers (yes, it can still be done) and will be able to trace them to the previous owners (who hopefully filed a stolen gun reports) if the guns were purchased illegally.

edit: if VA doesn't have registration or waiting periods, there are Federal Laws that require them.

Answer 3

I am the ideal gun owner, and had I been at VA Tech, which is 30 miles from where I live, I could have used my Glock 10mm to save lives. The asker of this question is evil and wishes I was dead because I saved my own life by showing my Glock to 2 men who wanted to murder me. This jerk wants innocent people to be defenseless. Maybe he is a criminal who prefers unarmed victims.

Answer 4

Anything wrong here?

Yes - the serial #'s were filed off of the guns - why?

There's more to this story, and it will be a while before all the details come out.

Answer 5

Let me see - you advocate that removal of guns would prevent mass murder, when in fact it would up the ante to include dispersal of chlorine gas at a university that would surely wipe out more than 30 and then you would advocate banning chlorine, right?

Answer 6

No, sounds like he'd get a permit anywhere.

If it wasn't a gun it sounds like he'd set the building on fire (past fire issues)

We should outlaw fire.

Answer 7

Too bad he was corrupted by the evil socialist liberal paradigms of a university campus.

Answer 8

Only if you live in NRA koo koo land.