Va. Tech Gunman's Mental Records Released

(CBS/AP)  Relatives of the student gunman who killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus turned over his mental health records to a gubernatorial panel investigating the shootings, the panel's chairman said Thursday.

Federal privacy laws governing health and student information had prevented the panel from reviewing Seung-Hui Cho's records. Panel Chairman W. Gerald Massengill had said he would go to court if necessary to obtain them.

"This is not all the records that we will need," Massengill told The Associated Press on Thursday, "but this is certainly some that we felt a strong need to take a look at."

University spokesman Larry Hincker said the family turned over Cho's mental health records on Tuesday. Massengill said they were delivered to the panel on Wednesday, but that he had not yet examined them.

Virginia Tech officials had been in negotiations with the family since the panel met in Blacksburg in May, Hincker said. Panel members have expressed frustration at state and school officials, who have said they couldn't turn over Cho's medical, mental health or scholastic records because federal privacy laws protect people even after death.

Cho killed himself on April 16 shortly after a shooting rampage in which he killed two students at a Virginia Tech dormitory and 30 other students and staff inside a classroom building. It was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The release of Cho's records follows a federal report claiming that privacy laws helped prevent school officials, doctors and police from sharing information about the gunman.

As a result, information that could be used to get troubled students counseling or prevent them from buying handguns never makes it to the appropriate agency, the report by three Cabinet agencies said.

President Bush ordered the report in April after the shootings.

Cho's roommates noticed he had problems, his professors expressed concern about his violent writings, and a judge ordered him into treatment after describing the young man as a danger to himself and others.

But it's unclear whether Cho received follow-up treatment, and because the court order never made it into a federal database, he was able to legally purchase two handguns to carry out the attack.

"People don't understand what they can share and what they can't share," said Mike Leavitt, the secretary of Health and Human Services.

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[infidel_us]

You know...there are problems. I bought a new Bersa 380 last weekend from a licensd gun shop in GA. They were going to let me just walk out with it.

I started looking around for cameras......I said, are you serious?" He said, "yeah...you look alright to me."

I thought it was some kind of FBI sting set up so I said, "I'll see you in 7 days." This just isn't right. The law should apply to everyone - equally - without exception.

[susanhelit]

The mentally ill may not like it - but it's a matter of public safety. I can understand protesting it - but just like Andrew Speaker's rights had to be restricted because of his disease, same goes for those with a mental illness that may cause them to harm others.

Your rights stop where I start.

[gunownerdan]

pixelslinger said:
"You think if VT wasn't a gun free zone, teachers would have allowed their students to pack inside the classrooms? Are you friggin serious?"

Virgina law already allows students and teachers with a valid concealed-carry permit(NOT EVERYONE CAN GET A CONCEALED-CARRY PERMIT) to carry on college campuses. Virginia tech had to fight in order to have a "gun free zone". Of course, Cho couldn't care less!
I've said it before and I'll say it again.
Killers prefer unarmed victims.
a-human-right.com

[apdepetris]

Just goes to show that all of these privacy laws turn out to be double-edged swords. One of the reasons medical privacy laws exist is to protect people from being discriminated against because of a medical condition (like HIV for example). The general public doesn't need to know the ins and outs of a person's medical history.

But there has to be some balance so that the right people (courts, law enforcement, etc.) can be informed and take appropriate action with a person that could be a danger to themselves or other people.

[sparks224]

If we take loaded weapons away from mentally ill people, it%u2019s a slippery slope to gun control!

Also, how come I can't have a rocket launcher? The founding fathers want me to have one. It says so in the second amendment.

[pixelslinger]

yes, because one thing that the mentally ill need is everyone to know that they are in therapy - so the community can 'help' by making them wear a big red letter.

GunOwner - your argument is like the results of shooting fish in a barrel, full of holes. You think if VT wasn't a gun free zone, teachers would have allowed their students to pack inside the classrooms? Are you friggin serious?

[gunownerdan]

If anything helped Cho commit mass murder, it's the fact that Virginia Tech is a "GUN FREE ZONE".
Killers prefer defenseless victims!
a-human-right.com