To Prevent Massacres Like Uvalde, We Need More Wisdom and Fewer Hysterics

If you were looking for a stunning symbol of the corrosive state of our national dialogue, it’s hard to find a better example than the politicized reactions to the horrific mass killing of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. From Hollywood to the political class to the Twitterverse, social warriors have channeled their rage by spewing the usual clichés about gun control and getting into verbal shooting matches with their political opponents.

I’m as angry and frustrated as anyone at yet another mass shooting in America. But beyond the justified anger and the tired arguments that surround gun violence, are there any concrete ideas that can make a real difference in preventing more massacres?

There are, but first, let’s note something that often gets lost in the noise: The measures typically promoted by gun control advocates are not suitable for preventing mass shootings.

As David French writes in The Dispatch, “Mass shooters are frequently law-abiding, right up until the moment when they commit mass murder. Mass shootings are often meticulously planned, which means that they can circumvent common gun control laws. For example, the Buffalo shooter legally purchased the weapon he used and then illegally modified it to make it more lethal.”

Whether we’re referring to expanded background checks, assault weapons bans or limits on magazine capacity—the standard wish list of gun control advocates– the general rule, French writes, is that “none of those measures, even if implemented, would have actually prevented any recent mass shooting.”

He notes that in 2015, the highly credible Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post fact-checked Marco Rubio’s assertion that assault weapons bans and magazine limits would not have prevented any then-recent mass shooting and found it to be true. That kind of reality check rarely gets through the verbal wars around gun violence.

So, if hysterics and cliches can’t address the scourge of mass shootings, what can? For starters, we can try a little wisdom.

One wise approach championed by French and others is what’s called Red Flag laws. Instead of trying to mass control weapons, the idea is to zero in on potential killers based on behavioral patterns we’ve seen in mass shootings.

As French explains: “If a person exhibits behavior indicating that they might be a threat to themselves or others (such as suicidal ideation or violent fantasies), a member of his family, a school official, or a police officer can go to court to secure an order that permits police to seize his weapons and prohibit him from purchasing any additional weapons so long as the order lasts.”

French quotes a study in 2018 that showed that “in every one of the deadliest school shootings, the shooter exhibited behavior before the shooting that could have triggered a well-drafted red flag law.”

Writing in The New York Times, Nicholas Kristoff suggests an even stronger version of Red Flag laws. He notes that “We typically don’t allow people with felony convictions to possess firearms… wouldn’t it also make sense to bar purchases by someone with a recent misdemeanor conviction for drug or alcohol abuse, for violence, or for stalking? Only 10 states bar people with stalking convictions from buying guns.”

He adds that “people going through breakups are particularly a risk to themselves and to their ex-partners. So why not pass red-flag laws that allow guns to be removed from someone who is undergoing a mental health crisis or subject to a domestic violence protection order?”

Potential killers are out there right now. The quicker we can red flag them, the more lives we will save.

Red Flag laws are only one instrument in the fight against mass shootings; there are others. The point is that if we can focus on smart, bipartisan solutions rather than partisan hysterics, we’ll have a better chance to tame this unique American plague.

Potential killers are out there right now. For all we know, all the media attention surrounding mass killings may give these killers additional motivation to wreak havoc. The quicker we can red flag them, the more lives we will save.