Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said Wednesday that red-flag regulations in Illinois are robust.
He said this even when a state with a few of the tightest gun laws in the world failed to prevent a 21-year-old gunman from killing seven people at a July 4 procession and wounding at least 30 more.
When announcing first-degree murder counts against Robert Crimo III, Rinehart hailed his state’s gun restrictions and demanded a national prohibition on certain sorts of firearms.
Red Flag Laws
The red flag rule confiscates guns and prevents specific persons from getting guns, according to Rinehart.
After announcing that the Highland Park shooter will be charged with 7 counts of murder, the State Attorney Eric Rinehart praises red flag laws and calls for a nationwide assault weapons ban both of which are currently on the books in Illinois and Highland Park and failed. pic.twitter.com/bWEA8MZuHm
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 5, 2022
If Illinois gun regulations were so good, why wasn’t Crimo caught before he fired up the celebration and escaped in women’s clothing?
If red flag laws prevented lethal shootings, which everyone knows they don’t because they lack judicial oversight and are politically exploitable, why didn’t they stop Crimo or other shooters in states with red flag legislation?
All the usual warning indicators were present.
Crimo posted violent stuff online that reflected a long-term plan to cause devastation. He tried to commit suicide in April 2019, due to mental health difficulties.
Local law enforcement expressed worries about him to state authorities. He achieved a dreadful deed willingly.
Rinehart’s anti-gun tirade will not make sense unless people realize his request for national gun restrictions is a political tactic, not one geared to halt murderous criminals.
If by some magical spell, “assault rifles” were miraculously swept off the face of the planet, as Rinehart appeared to suggest, who’s to say Crimo wouldn’t have attacked the July 4 crowd with a dagger, blade, sword, or car, like the December parade tragedy in Waukesha, Wisconsin?
Warnings and Clear Indications
In September 2019, Crimo threatened to murder everyone in his home with 16 daggers, a knife, and a sword.
Police forces seized the weapons before releasing the blades to the teen’s father, who said the razors were his and stashed in the closet for precaution.
Crimo’s father sponsored his son’s December 2019 request for a firearm owner’s ID card, which is necessary for gun possession in Illinois; the local cops accepted it.
Police also came to the shooter's house in 2019 after he made death threats, seized knives and a sword from his house, he posted a video of the parade route in 2021 depicting himself gunning people down, passed Illinois' universal background check and was never red flagged.
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 5, 2022
Even if Crimo’s dad hadn’t funded the request or if the state police denied it, he could still buy knives and firearms from gangs in crime-ridden Chicago, 20 miles south of his Highland Park home.
Crimo’s alarm bells went off, but red flag regulations and assault weapon restrictions won’t stop criminals with meticulous preparations to hurt, kill, and ruin.
14 Senate and House Republicans recently voted to seek Illinois-style gun restrictions in other states. They say these regulations will make society safer and minimize tragedies like the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings.
They’re wrong.
Red flag regulations and gun control aren’t laudable when one of the strictest states fails to stop Crimo’s fatal attack.
Asking the federal government to take away Americans’ ability to protect themselves from crazy people doesn’t stop shootings. Instead, it makes it harder for law-abiding people to protect themselves and leaves room for administrative mistakes.
