The United States is in a state of a national emergency in regards to public safety, mass shootings, and gun violence. As law abiding, tax-paying, and economy boosting citizens, our government must ensure the protections of its people–which it is not doing now. President Biden stated he was going to pass a series of gun refrom bills this year but he has yet to do so. I am pleading with the federal government to recognize and effectively enforce Red-Flag laws on a national level to prevent mass shootings and gun violence before it happens. 

According to the National Gun Violence Archive, as of March 24th, 2023, there have already been 120 mass shootings in the United States. As of March 20th, 2023, there have been 100 Chicago homicides this year. Incarceration is a consequence, not a solution. We need the violence to stop before it even occurs. People do not just wake up one day and decide to kill, there is a pathway that leads them there. 

Red-Flag laws would allow courts to issue a protection order, in which a judge would have to decide if a person is a danger to themselves or others. If deemed so by a judge, their gun could be confiscated by the police. Red-flag laws would not just be for law enforcement, but it would also be for mental health professionals to use. Anyone, such as a family member or a therapist, can petition to a judge that a person is in danger to themselves or others. Time and time again we have seen with mass shootings that the person had a history of mental illness, threatening behavior, or someone reporting them for this. If these laws were federally enforced and pushed as a nationwide resource to mental health services or law enforcement, the United States would see an increase in gun violence prevention.

If we are paying taxes towards the police and the courts, we must have some say on how they are spending their time. More formal investigations on people who may be reported for threatening behavior could save someone’s life. Oftentimes when an mentally-ill or abusive individual is reported, the judicial system brushes it away based on lack of evidence or not taking the report seriously. With the state that this country is in, this cannot happen anymore. Technology and social media based investigations would be more substantial and efficient moving forward, as they do not require search warrants, police retaliation, or excessive funding. There is usually evidence online that gun violence is about to occur. For example, the Parkland shooter had weeks of violent social media posts that alluded to the crime he was about to commit. Another example would be when the Uvalde shooter went on Facebook live before killing his grandmother, 19 children, and 2 teachers after. When free evidence like this is being put out in the public domain, the police should not be turning a blind eye. Through Red-Flag laws, we need more emphasis on investigations that will prevent such terrible acts of violence, especially when they are so apparently close to happening.

There must be something done on a federal level to confront gun control. We understand that taking away the right to bear arms is not much of an option in the United States. However, if we want people to keep their guns, then we need more regulations. This country focuses too much on punishment rather than prevention. Punishment is not going to stop innocent people from being killed. There needs to be more emphasis on the judicial system and police investigations on threatening people. Even if this person does not have a registered gun, any type of intervention for a suspected threat could potentially stop the violence from occurring before it does.