Lax laws, lax enforcement, lethal red flags

Tuesday’s massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has revived calls for Congress to pass universal background checks for gun buyers and outlaw assault-style rifles for civilians.

At this writing, there's little to indicate what triggered the deceased shooter, identified as Salvador Rolando Ramos, 18, to carry out such a heinous act — the murders of 19 Robb Elementary School students and two teachers.

What we do know fits a disturbing pattern — a loner with access to lethal weapons.

According to Lt. Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Ramos didn't have any criminal history and “was unemployed” with “no friends, no girlfriend, we can identify.”

Democrat state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, whose district includes Uvalde, said the shooter purchased two semiautomatic rifles on his 18th birthday at an Uvalde-area gun store.

It was not clear whether either of those weapons were used in the attack.

This mass murder came less than a year after Texas legislators drastically expanded gun rights, including carrying handguns without a license.

But it would be naïve to blame this horrendous act solely on Texas' lax gun laws.

Another recent mass murder — at a Buffalo supermarket on May 14 — occurred in a state with strict gun statutes, including the red-flag law, which allows a judge to temporarily remove firearms from someone who law enforcement or family members consider a danger to themselves or others.

Red flag laws are supposed to ensure that tragedies like the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., Parkland, Fla., or the racist mass shooting in Buffalo aren't repeated.

But that didn't prevent Payton Gendron, the 18-year- old accused Buffalo mass murderer, from legally obtaining an AR-15 style rifle.

Law enforcement officials told CNN there were no red flags that would have precluded Gendron from obtaining the three guns said to be found in his possession, even though he had been evaluated for mental-health concerns last year.

That occurred after an incident in high school where he mentioned “murder- suicide,” but was nonetheless released without being involuntarily committed, according to law enforcement officials.

A red flag not enforced — or no laws at all — can render similar results.

Likewise, gun- control laws in Massachusetts, another red-flag state, requires those seeking to purchase a firearm obtain a permit to do so from their local police department. This lengthy process alone can take weeks and requires paperwork, an interview, and a background check.

The police chief still retains the discretion to deny the license. Even after obtaining a license, the buyer must present the license at the gun store and pass additional background checks.

But that didn't dissuade a group of Boston parents, clergy and community leaders in April from pressing Mayor Michelle Wu to take action after more than a halfdozen firearms were found in Boston schools.

Boston Safety of our Schools claims in one incident, a loaded gun was discovered in an elementary school.

Supporting SOS' concerns, since then two students were taken into custody after a pair of guns were found at Charlestown High School, authorities said.

A 13-year- old student from Hyde Park and a 17-year- old student from Mission Hill face charges in connection with the incident, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

How can these breaches occur in a gun- control state like Massachusetts?

The same way they occur in other states — lack of laws or lack of enforcement.

In Massachusetts, someone convicted of possessing an illegal firearm outside the home supposedly faces a mandatory one-year jail sentence. But through judicial maneuvering and plea deals, enforcement has been the exception, not the rule.

Short of a federal background check law, which Congress has steadfastly refused to pass, states' enforcement of existing gun- control laws — including mandatory sentencing for illegal gun possession and increasing judicial discretion for red-flag enforcement — will help, but not necessarily deter, some other twisted individual from committing another mass slaughter.

That's the inconvenient truth in a country with more firearms than people.