Governor to expand gun checks

RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Timothy M. Kaine moved to expand background checks for gun purchases on Monday, two weeks after a man with a history of mental illness gunned down 32 people at Virginia Tech.

Under terms of Kaine’s executive order, anyone who has been judged dangerously mentally ill and ordered to receive treatment must be included in a database of people who cannot buy guns.

The key point: It doesn’t matter whether the treatment is inpatient or outpatient.

Gunman Seung-Hui Cho purchased two guns in Virginia this year even though a judge in 2005 deemed him mentally ill and dangerous.