The following editorial appeared in Monday's Washington Post: When then-U.S. Attorney Richard Cullen, a Republican, gave vigorous support in 1993 to Virginia limiting the purchase of handguns to one a month, some people questioned the propriety of a federal prosecutor getting involved in a state legislative matter. But Mr. Cullen believed that it was his duty to speak out because the gun running made possible by Virginia's lax laws was a national problem. That is just as true today _ and it's why the Obama administration should find its voice and help prevent a repeal of this invaluable law. The Republican-led House of Delegates has already voted to repeal the 17-year- old ban on buying more than one handgun a month. The Senate Courts of Justice committee is set to consider the bill, and, though the committee is controlled by Democrats, the outcome is by no means certain. The effort to undo the ban was fueled during last year's gubernatorial campaign when both candidates said that they would sign a repeal. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, R, who voted for the ban when he was a member of the House, says that he has changed his mind. Mr. McDonnell and other supporters of repeal offer the feeble argument that new technology, which allows instant background checks on gun buyers, makes the law obsolete. What they overlook is how straw purchasers, residents with no criminal backgrounds who can lawfully purchase firearms, serve as front men for criminals who come to the state to buy guns in large quantities. It's a system that, to use Mr. Cullen's phrase, made Virginia 'an embarrassment' and contributed to the violence that is the hallmark of drug gangs. Research has shown that the gun-a-month limit has reduced _ by as much as half _ the number of Virginia firearms recovered in cities such as New York. And we're not aware of any big problems that resulted from buyers being able to obtain only 12 handguns a year. Our inquiries to the current U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, as well as to the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as to their thoughts on what a repeal might mean to national and international crime fighting either fell on deaf ears or elicited a response that the administration wouldn't involve itself in local matters. It seems that this is an administration that has been cowed by the political implications of taking on the national gun lobby. The Obama administration needs to listen to what Mr. Cullen said 17 years ago: 'It is my responsibility to get involved ... I owe it to the beat cops ... and to the thousands of law enforcement officials who put their lives in harm's way each day.' And it needs to finally speak out to help Virginia Democrats kill this misguided repeal. 