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The following editorial appeared Saturday in the Chicago Tribune:

Last winter, Virginia Tech University student Seung Hui Cho bought two pistols from licensed gun dealers. On April 16, he used those guns in a campus shooting spree that left 32 people dead and 17 wounded, then killed himself. Had existing gun laws been enforced, though, the tragedy might never have taken place.

Cho had a history of depression and thoughts about suicide and homicide. In 2005, a judge had deemed him "an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness" and ordered him to undergo treatment. Under federal law, he was therefore disqualified from purchasing guns.

But because he was never committed to an inpatient facility, Virginia didn't provide that crucial information for the federal database of people ineligible to buy guns. So Cho passed the background check — and walked out with the weapons he would put to horrific use.

Recently Congress passed legislation to prevent repetition of this failure. It clarifies what mental health records states must provide to the federal government, and it provides up to $375 million a year to help them comply. Those that fall short could lose federal funds.

The law will not expand the list of people barred from buying guns, but merely give teeth to the existing prohibition. It's so clearly sensible that the bill elicited no broad opposition. In fact, it won the endorsement of both the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the National Rifle Association.

That's not to say there was no disagreement. Some groups claiming to speak for the mentally ill said the ban would unfairly punish people for a medical condition. A gun-rights group that parted with the NRA said the change would amount to "a denial of a civil liberty, and it's being done without due process."

Fortunately, Congress gave those complaints the short shrift they deserved, and President Bush is expected to sign the bill. It will help prevent the next Cho from carrying out the bloody designs of his disturbed mind.