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America recently has suffered through a spate of mass shootings. Most recently, a gunman fired on a crowd of people on the Fourth of July in Highland Park, Illinois. Seven were killed and more than 40 others were injured.
Across the country, concerned citizens ask, “Why?” Why does this keep happening and what can we do about it?
Amy Swearer, a legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation specializing in firearms and the Second Amendment, views it as a deeper issue involving the mental health of those who obtain weapons and go on to commit those crimes. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
“There is this social contagion effect where people who are disgruntled, who are not in a good state of mind, who feel rejected or outcasts want to make a name for themselves,” Swearer explains.
Swearer adds that, many times, even if the person legally obtains the weapons they use in a mass shooting, it’s generally because laws on the books weren’t enforced or disqualifying behavior slips through the cracks.
“The problem is either no one noticed or took official steps, or they hadn’t quite reached a point under existing laws where they could be charged with a disqualifying felony or involuntarily committed,” she says. “All of these gun laws are only as good as their enforcement. It’s the same thing with red flag laws.”
Swearer joins the show to discuss the most recent mass shooting and what laws could actually help stop these shootings.
Also on today’s show, we cover these stories:
- The man accused of killing seven people in Highland Park, Illinois, confesses to the crime and reveals that he had planned a second attack.
- Georgia Democrats may have violated state election laws by building a field office too close to a polling place.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom vacations in Montana, even though his state bans state employees from traveling there on business.
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