Va. Tech Gunman's Mental Records Released

Relatives Of Seung-Hui Cho Give State Panel Records For Investigation Into Shootings

(CBS/AP) 
As for the federal report, Virginia Tech president Charles Steger said it disclosed "the deep complexities of the issues facing college campuses today" and reflected the dialogue on the university's campus. He said he believes the report will help advance federal and state officials' scrutiny of issues related to society's safety vs. personal freedoms.

The family of one of the victims hopes so.

"I understand privacy, I really do," said Renee Cloyd, whose daughter, Austin, was killed. "However, I think our country has come a little bit too far in saying we have all these rights."

Her husband, Virginia Tech professor Bryan Cloyd, noted that Cho's behavior had concerned one of his English professors, who removed him from class for violent writing and disruptive behavior.

"It should be pretty clear that it's a problem and that we should be able to look into that," he said. "If our privacy laws prevent that, then they need to be rewritten."

The report was released Wednesday, just after the House passed what could become the first major federal gun control law in over a decade. The bill would improve state reporting to a federal database used to block gun purchases by prohibited buyers.

Shortly after the shootings, Mr. Bush dispatched Cabinet officials across the country, ordering them to meet with school officials, mental health experts and local leaders to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.

The report by the departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Education found that teachers and school administrators feared liability for sharing information and didn't understand whether they could be held responsible for not sharing information.

On top of federal privacy laws governing health and student information, states have privacy laws of their own and police have rules limiting disclosure of criminal information.

"They can in fact share information when a person's safety or the community's safety is, in fact, potentially in danger," Leavitt said.

The federal report also recommended that schools develop systems that allow them to quickly notify students when emergencies occur.

Virginia Tech officials waited more than two hours to alert the school's nearly 26,000 students that two of their peers had been shot dead in a dormitory. By then, Cho was in another campus building, murdering 30 more people.

The school is considering programs to alert students of security issues through cell phone text messages.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech will reopen Norris Hall, the classroom building where most of the victims were killed.

The school will give media tours Thursday of the newly repaired building. Prior to this, many relatives of those injured and killed were allowed private visits to Norris Hall.

The building formally reopens Monday.

University officials have said no classes will ever meet in the building again. Engineering researchers will use sophisticated laboratory equipment there that could not be moved.

[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