U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Predictably emerging from the intense investigation into the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois are revelations that laws already in place to prevent such crimes failed miserably, but instead of acknowledging poor enforcement of existing statutes, anti-gun politicians and their far-left supporters simply want to pass more restrictions.
Buried in all the coverage about the Highland Park shooting that so far has claimed seven lives and left dozens more wounded was the acknowledgment by USA Today that the Chicago suburb banned so-called “assault weapons” nearly ten years ago and the Supreme Court “later declined to hear an appeal seeking to overturn the ordinance.”
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering actually signed the gun ban ordinance, the story noted.
Fox News reported that Rotering, appearing on NBC’s “Today” show stated, “I think at some point the nation needs to have a conversation about these weekly events involving the murder of dozens of people with legally-obtained guns. If that is what our laws stand for, then I think we need to re-examine the laws.”
However, speaking on Fox News, former homicide detective and Fox News contributor Ted Williams observed,“Let me say that Illinois has some of the most stringent gun laws in this country. They have red flag laws. They have universal background checks…so all of these things were in place in some kind of way. Some way [somehow], this slipped through the cracks.”
The attack has also been exploited by gun prohibition lobbying groups.
The Everytown “Victory Fund” sent an email blast declaring the group “is working to elect candidates across the country who will take on the gun lobby’s extremism and advocate for life-saving gun safety policies. Donate now to help Gun Sense Candidates win at the ballot box this year.”
“We can pass stronger gun laws and save lives,” said Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts in another email seeking donations. “And by electing Gun Sense Candidates at every level of government—school board, city council, state legislatures, and Congress—we can make sure we get action.”
Brady United circulated a poll which doesn’t seem to work unless a donation is made. Brady claims to “know how to stop mass shootings…We must ban deadly assault weapons.”
The suspect, 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III apparently had been planning his attack for several weeks, if not longer. He stands charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. Despite past encounters with law enforcement, his name didn’t flag during any of the multiple gun purchases he reportedly completed.
The New York Post reported the suspect purchased the alleged murder weapon, identified as a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 online from a Kentucky retail outlet, Buds Gun Shop & Range in 2020. The rifle was reportedly shipped to Red Dot Arms in Lake Villa, north of Highland Park, only a few miles from the Wisconsin state line.
This is not unusual. Such transactions still involve two licensed firearms dealers and the required paperwork is completed and retained by the receiving firearms dealer, in this case Red Dot. The process is entirely legal.
The New York Post is reporting Crimo also had a Kel Tec SUB 2000 rifle in his car when he drove north to Wisconsin following the shooting. That gun is one of five now held by police in the investigation. The other three firearms seized were identified by the Post as a bolt-action Remington 700, a shotgun and a Glock 43 pistol.
Crimo’s father reportedly sponsored his then-under-21 son’s application for a Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card, although he “knew police had been called to their home twice earlier that same year because his son had threatened to kill himself and the rest of his family,” according to Fox News.
The Fox story noted, “In April 2019, an individual contacted the Highland Park Police Department a week after learning of Crimo’s attempted suicide, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said Tuesday…It was a delayed report, so police responded to the residence a week later and spoke with Crimo and his parents. Mental health professionals handled the matter with no further law enforcement action.
“Months later in September 2019,” the narrative added, “a family member reported that Crimo had a collection of knives and said he was “going to kill everyone. Police responded to the residence and removed 16 knives, a dagger and sword from his home. At that time, there was no probable cause to arrest, and no complaints were signed by any of the victims, Covelli said.”
This is not evidence a new law is necessary, but proof the existing law failed, or maybe not. As explained by an attorney to Fox, since Crimo was never charged with a crime, his name was not entered into a database used for background checks.
This, and the ability to purchase firearms in one state to be shipped to a local licensed firearms retailer for final paperwork, may wind up being the next target for gun prohibitionists.
The fact Crimo has reportedly confessed hasn’t stopped anti-gun politicians looking to score points by pointing fingers of blame elsewhere, particularly at the National Rifle Association.
For example, Congressman Sean Casten (D-IL) said on Twitter, “This is the world the NRA, the @GOP and SCOTUS have created. We don’t have to live like this. But they all have blood on their hands for making this our July 4th reality.”
This is the world the NRA, the @GOP and SCOTUS have created. We don't have to live like this. But they all have blood on their hands for making this our July 4th reality. https://t.co/xEKoN6oZ0M
— Sean Casten (@SeanCasten) July 4, 2022
Perennial anti-gun Sen. Dick Durbin asked Fox News during an interview, “How long are we going to accept this in America?”
Politico quoted Chicago Alderman Mike Rodriguez’ tweet declaring, “There’s only one answer to our gun pandemic and that’s fighting against NRA greed and enacting real gun reform including universal background checks and assault weapons bans.”
“A weapon made for war, not parades” Dr. Baum, of Highland Park who witnessed the heinous scene today. There’s only one answer to our gun pandemic and that’s fighting against NRA greed and enacting real gun reform including universal background checks and assault weapons bans.
— Mike Rodriguez (@rodriguezfor22) July 4, 2022
The reported episodes involving Crimo are eerily reminiscent of another family that either failed to recognize a problem or took no action. That was the family of Kip Kinkel of Springfield, Oregon. In May 1998, then 15-year-old Kinkel had been in trouble at school, where he was suspended for having a loaded, stolen handgun in his locker. He bought the stolen gun from another student.
Kinkel had shown an interest in firearms, and his father bought a semi-auto .22-caliber rifle and a Glock 9mm pistol. He used the rifle to murder his father and, a short time later, his mother when she arrived home from her job at a local school.
The next day, Kinkel opened fire at Thurston High School, killing two students and wounding 25 others before several students tackled him to the floor.
Now, instead of having possibly been killed by their child, the suspect’s parents could be facing some legal trouble of their own, according to Fox News. The story said the parents—at least his father—could face civil action over “negligent entrustment of dangerous weapons,” according to New York attorney Steve Bertolino, quoted in the report.
NBC News reported Crimo had confessed “in detail” about the shooting, acknowledging in the process he traveled north to Madison, Wisconsin to another Fourth of July event. He allegedly considered a second attack there, but decided against it.
Reports are also emerging about Crimo’s previous activities, including one story in the New York Post that the murder suspect had been “sizing up” a local synagogue in April on the final day of Passover. The rabbi asked him to leave the Chabad synagogue. Whether this was actually the case may never be determined.
Watch for even more revelations and reactions from politicians demanding more gun control laws as this story continues to unfold. While it is clear authorities in Highland Park are focusing on prosecuting Crimo, the gun prohibition lobby has already shown its intent to use this crime to advance its agenda, despite the fact that laws anti-gunners have already pushed into place did not live up to their promise of preventing violent crime.
True to form, anti-gunners have yet to acknowledge their restrictive gun control measures did not prevent the attack, and they have quickly steered away from that inconvenient truth by demanding more laws.
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
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