RICHMOND -- The father of a Virginia Tech shooting victim urged state lawmakers Monday to be "proactive" in pursuing mental health reforms and gun legislation as they tackle policy issues raised by the campus killings.

"You owe this to 32 victims at Virginia Tech killed on April 16, 2007," said Joseph Samaha, the father of murdered Tech student Reema Samaha, in brief remarks to a House of Delegates committee.

The House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee held the first in a series of hearings on mental health issues, which could lead to proposed reforms in the 2008 legislative session. The House panel's work is separate from a gubernatorial panel that is investigating all aspects of the Tech shootings, including the gunman's encounter with the mental health system.

Tech student Seung-Hui Cho had been ordered to get outpatient mental health treatment 16 months before a shooting rampage that ended when he took his own life. It is unclear whether Cho ever received treatment.

"Mr. Cho, by his actions both in and out of the classroom, was crying for help," Joseph Samaha told the House committee. "The sounds of his cries reverberated on April 16th."

The House committee heard briefings Monday from an assistant attorney general and the state director of mental health on laws and procedures covering commitment proceedings and outpatient treatment for people with mental illnesses. It also heard from the state inspector general for mental health, whose preliminary report on Cho's brush with the mental health system includes recommended reforms.

In the report, Inspector General James Stewart called for a "comprehensive study" of the commitment process so that those who assess a person's mental illness and dangerousness have the information they need. He also recommended that outpatient treatment orders designate a provider and suggested that the state code should better define the role of regional community services boards in recommending treatment plans.

No one from New River Valley Community Services, which coordinates a variety of treatment in the region, was present at Cho's December 2005 commitment hearing. Cho made an appointment with Tech's Counseling Center before the hearing, but the report does not reveal whether Cho kept the appointment. With the consent of Cho's family, Tech officials last week turned over the campus counseling records to a gubernatorial panel investigating the shootings.

Stewart said the state must make sure that it has sufficient treatment capability and "adequate support services necessary to monitor and coordinate services for those in care."

Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, said the state will need "significant resources" to expand community-based services for the mentally ill.

"You don't get something for nothing," said Hamilton, the committee's chairman.

Mary Ann Bergeron, the executive director of the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, said the state's 40 regional agencies already are working to "tighten and improve." New River Valley Community Services is revising its procedures for dealing with cases similar to Cho's.

Joseph Samaha said lawmakers also should consider "more sensible gun legislation" in conjunction with their review of the mental health system. Specifically, Samaha said lawmakers should take steps to keep guns off of college campuses and close loopholes that allow gun buyers to skirt criminal background checks.

"It's time that you become responsible and proactive, not reactive, on legislation that will close the loopholes," Samaha said.