By Canadian Press

How polarization in the U.S. thwarts state-level efforts to toughen red flag laws

Jul 7, 2022 | 1:34 PM

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — Monday’s deadly mass shooting in Illinois is proof that not even some of the most stringent gun control measures in the U.S. can prevent mass violence.

The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence ranked Illinois eighth for gun safety among the 50 states in its annual gun law scorecard in 2021 but problems surround the state, quite literally in every direction.

Advocacy groups say high-powered weapons are even easier to obtain in the five states that border Illinois — Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana. 

Not that they’re hard to get in Illinois: that’s where the alleged gunman, 21-year-old Robert Crimo, obtained his weapons after his father co-signed his application. 

Crimo was approved even after police visited him twice in 2019 — once in response to a suicide threat, then again months later after he threatened family members. 

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Experts say the red flag laws in Illinois and elsewhere, while helpful, are ill-equipped to deal with situations where a person has no criminal record or friends or family don’t petition a court. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press