Connecticut lawmakers debated a proposed addition
to the state’s “Red Flag Law,” which would make it easier for family members to
get help for their loved ones who may be dangerously using guns.
Brandon
Wagshol’s family saw “red flags” on his Facebook, where he posted that he was
“into planning a mass murder.”
Norwalk
police seized weapons from Wagshol’s father’s house after being tipped off by
his family.
His mother,
Joanne Kirson, says her son told her that he was 90% done with building a
high-capacity firearm when he was arrested.
Under a new
proposal to the Red Flag Law, relatives,
dating partners and roommates could bypass police and go directly to a judge.
Doctors, clinical social workers and physician’s assistants could do the same.
Those who
have lost loved ones due to guns, like Jeremy Stein, say the new laws could
have saved lives.
“Had this
law been enacted in 1989, my uncle, David Stein, might be alive today,” he
says. “And we could have prevented him from taking his own life with his
firearm.”
The bill
would also make it harder for someone to get their guns back, something that proponents of gun rights
like state Rep. Doug Dubitsky
say is a problem.
“Aren’t the lives of the abused women that are
being disarmed and made vulnerable, aren’t they important too?” he says.
Kirson says
the Red Flag Law does not go far enough.
“The system failed him so
many times,” Kirson says. “It failed him, it failed me and it failed all of
you.”
Wagshol is charged with illegally possessing
high-capacity gun magazines. He is also accused of beating his father with a
pipe.