Deeds Calls Relative of Virginia Tech Victim

Creigh Deeds is reaching out to families of the Virginia Tech shooting, some of whom actively opposed him in his three-way Democrat primary against Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe, because of his stance on guns.

This morning, he called Omar Samaha, whose sister, Reema, was killed in the April 2007 shootings.

"Creigh and Omar spoke this morning and had a good, friendly conversation,'' said Mo Elleithee, Deeds spokesman. "As with all the families of the Virginia Tech tragedy, Creigh intends to have an open door and continued dialogue with him."

Samaha and Colin Goddard, a victim who survived the shooting (and was in the room when shooter Seung Hui Cho killed himself), issued an open letter opposing Deeds hours before the polls opened in June.

Deeds has voted repeatedly against closing a loophole that allows some private vendors at gun shows to make sales without background checks -- a change in law that has been pushed by the Virginia Tech familes. But he later changed his mind, championing amendments to the bill to close the loophole that would weaken the legislation but, he believed, would secure enough votes to get it out of committee. The bill never passed.