Opinion
The tragic mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis has already become political fuel for those who want to expand gun control.
Gov. Tim Walz is openly weighing a special gun-control session to push for an “assault weapons” ban and more restrictions, while Rep. Tom Emmer says Minnesota’s existing “red flag” law should have prevented the killer from obtaining firearms in the first place.
But here’s the hard truth: Minnesota already had a red flag law. It did nothing.
A Law That Failed at Its Central Promise
Red flag laws are sold to the public as a way to disarm dangerous individuals before they commit violence. Yet in this case, the suspect filled notebooks with hatred, praised mass murderers, and still managed to legally obtain firearms. If these laws don’t stop a would-be killer who practically advertised his intentions, what good are they?
The uncomfortable answer is that red flag laws aren’t built to stop criminals. They’re built to give politicians talking points while stripping the rights of the people who actually follow the law.
Evidence: Inconclusive at Best, Deadly at Worst
A 2024 RAND Corporation review found the effects of extreme-risk protection orders to be “inconclusive or mixed” on suicides, homicides, and violent crime. One study claimed a 4–6% suicide reduction, but the data was weak, geographically narrow, and statistically flimsy. In other words: no clear evidence they work.
Meanwhile, the real-world risks are undeniable:
- In Maryland (2018), a man was shot dead when police arrived unannounced to enforce a red flag order.
- In New York, courts have already ruled that earlier red flag orders violated due process.
- In Massachusetts, an 84-year-old school crossing guard lost his firearms — and his job — over an out-of-context remark overheard in a diner.
These aren’t “what if” scenarios. They happened.
Minnesota Isn’t Alone
Colorado passed two dozen new gun laws since 2021, including an expanded red flag law. What happened? Gun homicides and suicides went up, not down. Washington State and California tell the same story: more restrictions, more violent crime.
As Alan Gottlieb of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms bluntly put it, these policies are “dead wrong.” They only disarm the people who aren’t the problem.
The Real Root Cause: Mental Health and Security
Even Emmer admits the obvious: America’s real crisis is mental health. But here’s the catch — when Congress passed the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, it didn’t just include funding for school security and counseling. Lawmakers loaded it up with gun control provisions that Republicans couldn’t support, including expanded background checks, new restrictions on private sales, and incentives for states to adopt red flag laws.
That’s why Emmer and other Republicans voted “no.” Not because they opposed mental health resources or safer schools, but because Washington politicians once again used a tragedy to sneak in more anti-gun laws under the cover of “safety.”
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Catholic schools had already asked Gov. Walz for help with security after a previous tragedy. He did nothing. And now, instead of addressing the real root causes, politicians are exploiting another tragedy to recycle the same failed gun-control proposals.
The Bottom Line
Red flag laws didn’t stop the Minneapolis church shooting. They didn’t stop mass shootings in California, Colorado, or New York. What they have done is erode due process, endanger lawful citizens, and provide political cover for leaders who refuse to confront real problems.
Every time these laws fail, the same crowd demands more restrictions on the rights of honest gun owners. But more laws piled on top of failed laws won’t save lives. What will? Confronting the mental health crisis [can you say Transgenerisim], restoring school security, and holding violent criminals — not peaceful gun owners — accountable.
Because if red flag laws worked, we wouldn’t be mourning two more dead children in Minnesota today.
About Tred Law
Tred Law is your everyday patriot with a deep love for this country and a no-compromise approach to the Second Amendment. He does not write articles for Ammoland every week, but when he does write, it is usually about liberals Fing with his right to keep and bear arms.
We are in dangerous times! We are NOT meeting our funding goals! Will you help out?
Extreme-Risk Protection Orders Fail To Deliver: Analysis of Red Flag Laws & Their Consequences
the laws to protect mental health makes a persons records blocked from view unless person is criminally convicted ,and conviction is set aside because they are crazy , or found incompetent to stand trial so red flag is just a swatting tactic
All Malum Prohibitum Laws are designed to fail, and always make the problem that they were “intended” to address worse, so those in power can call for even more restrictions on rights and seize more control, power and wealth, from the people, for themselves!!!
‘When will they ever learn?”
ERPO’s didnt work! But that scum that murdered them two little kids sure took advantage of “gun free zones” didnt he? Someone has got to (should) pay criminally for this!
ALL that ANY supposed gun Iaw does is to hobbIe Iaw-abiding Citizens, NOT criminaIs.
NO Iaw has EVER stopped a crime, of ANY kind.
Predating ‘Red Flag’ laws are the 5150 statutes designed to identify and sanction the mentally ill who pose a threat to self and others. The problem with those laws lays not in the statutes but in the spirit of enforcement. We have gone to a relativist ideology where clear cases of insanity are simply viewed as lifestyle choices hence are not categorized as a clear and present danger until that danger is on the doorstep. In this case the elephant in the room is the twisted transgender ideology which warps young minds and puts them on a path to personal… Read more »