Red flags everywhere.

It turns out the Highland Park shooter was flying plenty of red flags beyond his videos. And you didn’t have to be Hercule Poirot to notice them.

CBS is reporting that in 2019, the suspect threatened to kill himself and his family with knives and swords. Police went to his home and removed 16 knives, a dagger, and a sword. But there was no probable cause for an arrest… and a few months later the suspect’s father sponsored his son’s application for a Firearms Owner ID card, which was approved by the State Police.

And that made it legal for him to buy his guns.

I’ll bet that, had the gun store owner known about the threats, he’d never have sold that kid a gun. No gun dealer wants to be part of a massacre. Is there any reason we couldn’t at least provide gun dealers with a list of angry kids? “A No-Buy list?” Would that be considered a privacy violation?

Heck, the Supreme Court just said there is no right to privacy in matters of life and death – which this surely is. Maybe a “No Buy list” can finally happen now!

Or maybe it’s too late. Gun worship seems to have become the go-to religion of America’s alienated young males.

Nancy Rotering, the Mayor of Highland Park said yesterday that those online videos where young men flash their guns can no longer be excused as merely entertainment.

Ross: Highland Park shooter’s published, violent fantasies were a needle in the internet’s haystack

“We need people to speak up and not watch what’s happening on social media and find it to be entertainment,” Rotering said. “These are signals that people are having issues, these are signals that they have intentions”

Former Alabama Senator Doug Jones said more laws won’t be enough. He says gun owners themselves have to break the spell:

“We focus so much on talking about changing the laws. We’ve got to do something within the laws. But the fact of the matter is, and I think the mayor really captured it, this is a culture. This is something that goes beyond that. If we want to get things changed, it’s got to come from people. It’s got to come from gun owners, gun owners like me … to say enough is enough.”

Nice idea – and if you’ve heard any high-profile Second Amendment supporters – other than Doug Jones – say that publicly, please let me know. I’m having trouble coming up with a name.

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