Why Not Enforce Existing Laws Rather Than Push for New Gun Control?

With the mass murder of 18 people in Maine on Wednesday, gun control advocates are calling for more gun control laws. Right at the top of the list is a so-called Red Flag Law. Vice President Kamala Harris has already called for passage of Red Flag Laws and an assault weapon ban. Unfortunately, much of the gun control debate pushes proposals that would do nothing to stop the attacks they would supposedly solve.

The disappointing thing is that this discussion shouldn’t even be needed. Robert Card, the alleged murderer, threatened to murder people at a National Guard base. Such threats are a crime, and why wasn’t he already arrested? 

In addition, Card was already involuntarily committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this past summer for “hearing voices” and making threats but was released.

In Maine in 2020, the state instituted a “Yellow Flag Law,” which allows only police, not family, neighbors, or friends, to flag the person thought to pose a danger to themselves or others. Unlike Red Flag Laws, they also require a mental health evaluation before a judge decides to take away a person’s guns. But like Red Flag laws, there is no hearing before a judge takes away a person’s guns. Given that the police were already alerted to the threats, it isn’t obvious what the Red Flag law would have added.