El Paso suspect’s mother reportedly called the cops about him. That doesn't mean a 'red flag' law would have prevented it

The following is an excerpt from Blaze Media’s daily Capitol Hill Brief email newsletter:

Attorneys for the El Paso shooting suspect’s family now say that his mother called police in the weeks leading up to the massacre because she was concerned about him owning his gun due to his age, maturity, and experience level.

This news will probably be used by proponents of “red flag” confiscation laws, because this information supposedly shows the suspect as a known threat before the fact. But the reasons why the suspect’s mother reportedly called police don’t get anywhere close to showing a grave or extreme safety risk (which is what these laws are supposed to be for) and wouldn’t merit stripping someone of rights and property via court order. One of the attorneys even told CNN, “It's not like alarm bells were going off."

But as the renewed push for new background check laws in Washington has already reminded us, when the emotion-driven calls to “do something” get loud enough, facts take a back seat to politics.

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