By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
The mass shooting in Las Vegas has once again triggered cries for action to deal with rogue gun owners, particularly those who purchase an enormous amount of weapons and ammo in a short time.
A friend and retired FBI agent forwarded me an email the other day suggesting the government set up a threat analysis program for gun purchasers.
Here’s what he had to say:
There should be a risk management program that uses data bases with information about gun purchases. The program would identify key criteria that is a common thread in violent events: Number of weapons purchased by a single individual or by address or within a specified time period.
When those red flags are raised in the data base, the names of the purchasers would be turned over to the group that would conduct traces/searches and links to Federal cases and local incidents (not just reported crimes).
The group would develop a threshold to decide if the probe goes further. They would use social media searches, mental health agencies and interviews.
The arguments against creating such a group are overwhelming, cost being major.
Sure, it’s a needle in a haystack approach, but I am sure there are smarter folks than me who can scope the search to increase its worth.
The public relations sell would undoubtedly bump up against privacy concerns (Mental health & Constitutional rights) and the belief that we may miss some of the real culprits; criminals who don’t report gun purchases.
I understand that, but if current gun laws had the priority enforcement it deserves, straw purchasers and crooked gun dealers would start to dissipate, and maybe, just maybe, you could identify some old fart with a screw loose and force him to rethink his plan to be remembered as an evil footnote in history.
