Last week the House passed legislation designed to shore up the gaps in the instant background check system that allowed Seung-Hui Cho to purchase the guns he used to kill 32 people at Virginia Tech. From the Associated Press:
The measure would require states to automate their lists of convicted criminals and the mentally ill who are prohibited under a 1968 law from buying firearms, and report those lists to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS.
The most important fact about this action is that the measure had the support of the National Rifle Association. That means the bill is likely to become law. For that to happen, the Senate has to approve it as well. That’s the next step.