Two years after the Virginia Tech shooting the events of April 16, 2007 continue to have an impact on those who remember the tragedy’s 32 victims, as gun regulation efforts remain a topic of much discussion.
Omar Samaha, the brother of Reema Samaha, one of the 32 persons killed in the shooting, said he now is working to eliminate loopholes in the selling of firearms in Virginia.
Alex Howe, spokesperson for Americans United for Safe Streets, said Samaha is working to require a background check for guns sold in Virginia.
State laws currently require licensed gun dealers to run background checks on those purchasing firearms. Howe, however, said if a firearms dealer is classified only as an “occasional seller,” they are not required to run background checks on their customers.
Howe said “occasional seller” is a vague term and needs to be better defined by the commonwealth.
“There is no definition that constitutes an occasional seller,” he said, adding that someone could sell 100 guns at a gun show once a year and still be considered an “occasional seller”.
The issue surrounding occasional sellers of firearms is known as the gun show loophole, Howe said.
After his sister’s death, Samaha said he discovered that the shooter obtained his gun because of a mental health loophole, which did not require courts to disclose someone’s status as being mentally ill. This loophole has since been closed in Virginia.
But because of the gun show loophole, Samaha said a mentally ill person could still buy a gun at a gun show, “So we never really solved anything.”
Samaha said his efforts are supported by Gov. Tim Kaine, who put together the Virginia Tech review panel. One of the panel’s top recommendations was to close the gun show loophole.
To show how the loophole works, Samaha said he purchased 10 guns in less than an hour without a background check.
“I could have purchased more guns, but I was going for a variety,” Samaha said, explaining that he purchased both assault rifles and hand guns.
“It is a definite loop hole and something that needs to be dealt with to prevent future tragedy and violence in general,” Samaha said.
Howe said a bill designed to close the gun show loophole failed by two votes in the Virginia Senate in February. Although the bill did not pass, Howe said the bill has public support, citing a survey done in the past year showing that “67 percent of Virginians consider closing the gun show loophole as one of their highest priorities.”
Though none of the bill’s opponents spoke against the measure before the vote on the Senate floor, in the past opponents of the bill have voiced concerns that increased gun show regulations would go against the spirit of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.
Second-year College student Coleman Wortham, moreover, said he does not think a change in gun regulations can prevent people from obtaining guns.
“Those who we don’t want to have them will be able to get them anyway,” Worthan said.
Some students, though, feel that changing current regulations can make a difference.
“I totally agree it is a definite loophole,” first-year College student Chris Schultz said.
Meanwhile, those not involved in ongoing gun regulation efforts are still planning to remember the 32 victims in other ways.
Debbie Day, the director of the office of recovery and support at Virginia Tech, said the school is holding many efforts to remember the victims, including a 3.2 mile run to remember the 32 lives lost. Four thousand runners are expected to attend the race through the Virginia Tech campus, which will end at the April 16 memorial, Day said.
Day added that classes at Virginia Tech are canceled today to allow students to attend the memorial efforts.
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