Another School Shooting – More calls for gun control

Earlier this week a 17-year-old male student entered the high school where he attended and while undergoing his daily pat down for weapons he shot 2 administrators and fled. His body was later discovered in a forest from a self inflicted gunshot wound.

In the wake of this horrific crime, there are the usual calls for more gun control. However, rather than calling for more laws to restrict gun ownership and possession, we should examine the laws that were already in place that this individual violated:

Possession of a Firearm by a Juvenile

Under 18-12-108.5 CRS it is illegal for a juvenile to posses a handgun. There are exceptions to this if the minor is hunting or shooting at a designated range under the supervision of their parent or guardian.

Possession of a Deadly Weapon on School Grounds

Under CRS § 18-12-105.5, Colorado law makes it a felony to possess a deadly weapon on the grounds of any public or private school. A conviction is punishable by 1 to 1 ½ years in prison (with one-year mandatory parole), and/or a fine of up to $100,000.

First-Degree Assault (2-counts)

Under CRS 18-3-202, Colorado defines first-degree assault as intentionally and seriously hurting another person by means of physical force, often with a deadly weapon. As the most serious assault crime, first-degree assault is a class 3 felony punishable by 10 to 32 years in prison and $3,000 to $750,000 in fines.

First Degree Attempted Murder

Attempted first degree murder occurs when someone with premeditation tries to end someone’s life and fails or knowingly engaging in conduct which creates a grave risk of death under circumstances showing extreme indifference to the value of human life generally.² Often these cases involve more than one victim that the defendant did not specifically target.

As usual, every time there is a school shooting, mass shooting or other high profile case involving a gun the immediate reaction is to enact more gun laws. There are already plenty of laws on the books, many of which are not being properly enforced. Instead of jumping to add more laws, we should be looking at how/why the current laws are not working and try to fix those.