The shooting at a Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin is disturbing for a lot of reasons, most of which stem from a 15-year-old trying to slaughter her schoolmates and teachers.

I may not have always liked the people in my school, but wholesale slaughter was never really something I’d have considered.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of people in Wisconsin are using this as an opportunity to push gun control. Most of the push is ridiculous and includes things like assault weapon bans and universal background checks, despite the fact that there’s no evidence that they would have accomplished anything.

But now some are talking about red flag laws and how it’s just unfortunate that the meanie Republicans in the legislature won’t pass it.

Attempts to implement a red flag gun control measure in Wisconsin have been rebuffed several times in recent years, but some legislators hope the results of last month’s election can change that. 

“When the political dynamic shifts in the Legislature, we have a better shot at not only introducing the (red flag) legislation but giving it a fair public hearing,” said Dora Drake, current state representative and senator-elect. “The people of Wisconsin overwhelmingly support red flag laws.”

Red flag laws, also known as Extreme Risk Prevention Orders, allow judges to issue court orders to temporarily restrict access to guns by individuals who could pose a threat to themselves or others.

A red flag resolution was last introduced in Wisconsin in July 2023 but was shelved along with other resolutions in April.

In an interview before the election, Drake said she was hopeful that Democrats, who overwhelmingly support red flag laws, would assume a majority control in the Wisconsin Assembly.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, when the Wisconsin Legislature returns next month, Republicans will be in charge but have the narrowest majority since 2011, when they took control.

A push for stronger gun control laws

Drake said Wisconsin Republican lawmakers have not done enough when it comes to gun control measures. As a result, she said, people are at risk.

“As Democrats, we just want common sense laws on gun control, and that doesn’t mean we’re trying to take away someone’s Second Amendment rights,” she said. “People are tired of life being unnecessarily taken away.”

This is probably the dumbest push yet, though the fact that Madison hasn’t been mentioned at all makes it slightly less dumb.

Yet the shooting in Madison also illustrates some of the potential pitfalls of such laws.

For example, let’s say someone knew something was up and reported it. Now let’s say that the relevant authorities acted.

This was a 15-year-old girl. She couldn’t legally have any guns in the first place. If she took them from her father, as has been suggested, then a red flag law would have done exactly nothing. She wouldn’t have possessed any guns to take.

Unless, of course, the law would also disarm her father, who did nothing wrong so far as we’re aware.

The truth of the matter is that red flag laws have absolutely failed to stop several mass killers in recent years and they’ll keep coming up short. The idea of taking guns from someone who has no opportunity to defend themselves until after those guns are gone goes contrary to how our entire legal system is supposed to work, and the fact that it can’t even accomplish what proponents claim is all the more reason to oppose them.

Wisconsin doesn’t need a red flag law. Nowhere needs one.