Why Didn't a 'Red Flag' Law Prevent the Illinois Mass Shooting, and Would New Federal Rules Have Mattered?The answers underline the limitations of laws that aim to prevent this sort of crime by restricting access to firearms.
JACOB SULLUM
7.6.2022
The mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, poses a familiar question: Why didn't the state's "red flag" law, which is designed to disarm people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others, prevent the perpetrator from buying the rifle he used in the attack? The gun control law that Congress passed in response to recent mass shootings raises another question: Would its provisions have made any difference in this case?
The answers to those questions underline the limitations of laws that aim to prevent this sort of crime by restricting access to firearms. Gun controls that look sensible in theory frequently fail in practice, either because they are ill-suited to prevent mass shootings, do not apply, or were not enforced. That does not mean such laws have no effect on violent crime. But it does mean that Americans should be skeptical when politicians tout the lifesaving potential of a particular policy, especially when it also has the potential to deprive innocent people of their constitutional rights.
The New York Times notes that the 21-year-old man who prosecutors say admitted to murdering seven people and injuring dozens of others in Highland Park on Monday "was known to police" because of two incidents in 2019. In April 2019, Reuters reports, police visited his Highland Park home in response to a 911 caller who said he "had attempted suicide." That September, police returned in response to "alleged threats 'to kill everyone' that he had directed at family members."
During the second visit, police asked the young man if he was suicidal, which he denied. They "seized a collection of 16 knives, a dagger and a sword" that belonged to the 18-year-old's father, which they later returned to him.
Police did not arrest the son because they lacked probable cause to believe he had committed a crime. "There were no complaints that were signed by any of the victims," Chris Covelli, a sergeant with the Lake County Sheriff's Office, told reporters yesterday. But Highland Park police reported the incident to the Illinois State Police, which took no action.
State police offered two explanations for that. First, the future mass murderer at that point did not have a firearm owners identification card (FOID), which is required to legally buy or own guns in Illinois, and had not applied for one. Second, Reuters reports, state police "said no relative or anyone else was willing 'to move forward with a formal complaint' or to provide 'information on threats or mental health that would have allowed law enforcement to take additional action.'"
The state's red flag law, which took effect at the beginning of 2019, authorizes police as well as family members to seek a "firearms restraining order" that bars the respondent from purchasing or possessing guns. But if the future killer's relatives were uncooperative, collecting evidence to support a petition would have been difficult, since the case hinged on their account of his words and actions.
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Source:
https://reason.com/2022/07/06/why-didnt-a-red-flag-law-prevent-the-illinois-mass-shooting-and-would-new-federal-rules-have-mattered/
