自从伊利诺伊州高地公园7月4日游行中的大规模枪击事件，该事件导致7人死亡，数十人受重伤，人们开始质疑新的联邦枪支安全法是否能阻止这一悲剧的发生。
它要求对21岁以下的人加强背景调查，这是否会阻止嫌疑人罗伯特·“鲍比”·克里莫三世购买当局说他使用的高性能步枪——因为他之前与执法部门有过两次冲突，包括一次自杀威胁和一次“杀死所有人”的家庭暴力?
鉴于这一记录和他在社交媒体上发布暴力帖子的明显痕迹，法律的红旗条款会有所不同吗?
随着调查的进行，关于具体情况的证据仍在披露。
但当局表示，现年21岁的克里莫购买了他合法拥有的高能步枪和其他枪支，通过了多次背景调查。因为他在2020年和2021年这样做了——当时他不满21岁——一些倡导者说，允许检查青少年和精神病记录的新法律可能会有所不同。
与此同时，虽然伊利诺伊州有现行的红旗法，但Crimo似乎已经越过了保护措施。
倡导者说，新联邦法律中规定的更多教育和培训对于红旗法的有效使用是必要的。
“我们仍然需要了解更多，但看起来枪手展示了一些危险的警告信号，这正是伊利诺伊州红旗法旨在解决的问题，”约翰·范布拉特，Everytown for Gun Safety的主席。，在一份声明中告诉ABC新闻。“但工具只有从工具箱中拿出来时才有用，迄今为止，似乎没有人在这种情况下申请极端风险保护令。这就是为什么联邦资助红旗法的实施和两党更安全社区法案中的意识，加上伊利诺伊州立法者正在考虑禁止销售攻击性武器和大容量弹夹的州行动，可以在防止类似高地公园的悲剧方面发挥重要作用。”
新的联邦法律有什么内容
枪支暴力专家表示，分配给红旗法(也被称为极端风险保护令)的7.5亿美元可以成为遏制这些枪击事件的关键工具。
“在我看来，现在完全实施的联邦资金正是这个国家所需要的，以确保极端风险保护令法律被用来防止7月4日发生的那种屠杀，”约翰·霍普金斯伤害研究和政策中心主任香农·弗拉塔罗利博士告诉美国广播公司新闻。
弗拉塔罗利解释说，这笔钱可以用于培训执法人员、法官和社区如何利用这些法律来提高安全性。
伊利诺伊州是19个有此类法规的州之一，但莱克县州检察官埃里克·莱因哈特(Eric Rinehart)本周表示，他们“必须大幅提高对这部红旗法的认识和教育。”
该措施于2019年颁布，允许亲人或执法人员通过请求法院下令暂时阻止处于危机中的人获得枪支来进行干预。
但Crimo似乎逃避了法律，因为在与执法机构的冲突中没有逮捕任何人。高地公园警方确实向伊利诺伊州警方通报了2019年的事件，据称他在一份“明确而现实的危险”报告中威胁了他的家人，但州警方表示，他们对此事的参与已经结束，因为当时克里莫没有FOID卡或申请拒绝。
三个月后，克里莫确实申请了一张拥有枪支所需的FOID卡，而且他的申请得到了他父亲的支持。州警方于2020年批准了这一请求，当时表示“没有足够的依据来建立明确和现实的危险，并拒绝FOID的申请。”
更多:关于高地公园游行大屠杀的嫌疑人罗伯特·鲍比·克里莫三世的信息
关于Crimo个人历史的新信息也提出了问题，即两党更安全社区法案的强化背景调查部分是否可以适用。
Crimo去年刚满21岁，2020年购买了3支枪，2021年购买了1支。
根据新法律，21岁以下的潜在枪支购买者将被置于调查阶段，以审查青少年和精神健康记录，包括与州数据库和地方执法机构进行检查。
枪支控制集团吉福兹的常务董事罗宾·劳埃德说，加强背景调查旨在增加不同机构之间的沟通。
“这里的想法是，根据现行法律，背景调查可能不会检查存在于其他地方的关于那个人的更多信息，”她说，“这也给了联系当地执法部门的机会。”
但是劳埃德说，为了遏制枪支暴力，还有更多的工作要做。
“整体情况是，我们的联邦枪支法非常薄弱，”她告诉美国广播公司新闻。
根据吉福兹的说法，虽然伊利诺伊州的枪支法律在全国排名第八，但劳埃德指出，邻近各州的限制较少，枪支可以很容易地跨境转移。
“因此，虽然两党的《更安全社区法案》在联邦枪支安全政策方面迈出了非常重要的一步，但这不是唯一需要做的事情，”劳埃德说。“这不会阻止每一起枪击事件的发生。”
立法者下一步的提议是什么
枪击事件发生后，一些议员再次呼吁加强立法，禁止销售、转让、制造和进口军用攻击性武器，禁止某些大容量弹夹，并实施普遍背景调查。
“我们可以做一些事情，”伊利诺伊州民主党众议员布拉德·施奈德(Brad Schneider)在“GMA3”上告诉美国广播公司新闻，他的选区包括高地公园。
“众议院已经通过了要求全面背景调查的立法。百分之九十的国家支持这项立法，”施耐德说。“我们需要通过它，使之成为法律。我们可以禁止销售这些攻击性武器，让人们更难获得允许他们在几秒钟内发射60发子弹的大容量弹匣。”
副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯在周二访问芝加哥时也慷慨激昂地呼吁禁止攻击性武器。
“攻击性武器被设计用来快速杀死大量人类。我们没有理由在美国的街道上拥有战争武器。我们需要合理的枪支安全法，”哈里斯在全国教育协会发表讲话时说。那次会面后，哈里斯参观了高地公园枪击现场。
但任何额外的枪支限制都将在参议院面临一场艰苦的斗争，民主党人需要10张共和党人的投票才能清除阻挠议事。
共和党人对周一枪击事件的回应是继续指责精神健康问题，而不是攻击性武器的获取。
共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)支持两党的《更安全社区法案》(Safer Communities Act)，他周二表示，“问题在于心理健康和这些年轻人，他们似乎受到了这些暴行的启发。”
民主党人鼓励选民在2022年中期选举前支持支持加强枪支管制的候选人。
“这不会发生在明天，”伊利诺伊州民主党参议员迪克·德宾说。“当美国人民大声疾呼，选举那些真正想要做出改变、让美国变得更加安全的人时，这一切就会发生。”
Could that new federal gun safety law have prevented the July 4 parade shooting?
Ever since the mass shooting at a July Fourth parade in Highland Park, Illinois, which left seven people dead and dozens more seriously wounded, questions have been raised about whether the new federal gun safety law could have prevented the tragedy.
Would the enhanced background checks it requires for those under 21 have stopped the suspect, Robert "Bobby" Crimo III, from buying the high-powered rifle authorities said he used -- since he'd had two prior run-ins with law enforcement, including both a suicide threat and one to "kill everyone" in his family?
And could the law's red flag provisions have made a difference given that record and his apparent trail of violent social media posts?
Evidence about the exact circumstances is still being revealed as the investigation gets underway.
But authorities said Crimo, now 21, purchased the high-powered rifle and other guns he had legally, passing numerous background checks. And because he did so in 2020 and 2021 -- when he was under 21 -- some advocates say the new law, which allows checks of juvenile and psychiatric records, might have made a difference.
At the same time, while Illinois has an existing red flag law, Crimo appears to have slipped past the safeguard.
Advocates say more education and training, provided for in the new federal law, is needed for a red flag law to be used effectively.
"We still need to learn more, but it looks like the shooter exhibited some dangerous warning signs, exactly what Illinois’s red flag law is designed to address," John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety., told ABC News in a statement. "But tools are only useful when they are taken out of the toolbox and so far it doesn’t look like anyone filed for an extreme risk protection order in this case. That’s why the federal funding for red flag law implementation and awareness in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, combined with state action like lawmakers in Illinois are considering to prohibit the sale of possession of assault weapons and high capacity magazines, can make a big difference in preventing tragedies like the one in Highland Park."
What's in the new federal law
Gun violence experts said the $750 million allocated for red flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders, can be a critical tool for curbing these shootings.
"In my opinion, the federal funding that is now available for full implementation is exactly what this country needs to assure that extreme risk protection order laws are used to prevent the kinds of massacres that happened on the Fourth of July," Dr. Shannon Frattaroli, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, told ABC News.
That money, Frattaroli explained, can go toward training law enforcement, judges and the community on how to use these laws to improve safety.
Illinois is one of 19 states with such a statute on the books, but Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said this week that they "must vastly increase awareness and education about this red flag law."
Enacted in 2019, the measure allows loved ones or law enforcement to intervene by petitioning a court for an order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns.
But Crimo seemingly eluded the law, as no arrests were made in either run-in with law enforcement. Highland Park police did notify Illinois State Police of the 2019 incident in which he allegedly threatened his family members in a "clear and present danger" report, but state police said their involvement in the matter ended because at the time Crimo did not have a FOID card or an application to deny.
Three months later, Crimo did apply for a FOID card -- which is required for gun ownership -- and had his application sponsored by his father. State police approved the request in 2020, stating at the time "there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the FOID application."
New information about Crimo's personal history is also raising questions about whether the enhanced background check portion of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act could have applied.
Crimo just turned 21 last year, and purchased three guns in 2020 and one in 2021.
Under the new law, potential gun buyers under the age of 21 are placed under an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, including checks with state databases and local law enforcement.
Robin Lloyd, the managing director at the gun control group Giffords, said the enhanced background checks are designed to increase communication between different agencies.
"The idea here is that there might be more information about that individual that exists in other places that the background check doesn't check under current law," she said, "and it also gives an opportunity to contact local law enforcement."
But Lloyd said there is more work to be done in order to curb gun violence.
"The holistic picture is that we have very weak federal gun laws," she told ABC News.
While Illinois has the eighth-strongest gun laws in the nation, according to Giffords, Lloyd noted that neighboring states have less restrictions and firearms can easily move across borders.
"So while the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a very significant step forward in terms of federal gun safety policy, it is not the only thing that needs to be done," Lloyd said. "It is not going to prevent every shooting from happening."
What lawmakers are proposing next
In the wake of the shooting, some lawmakers are once again calling for stronger legislation that would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons, ban certain high-capacity magazines, and enact universal background checks.
"There are things we can do," Rep. Brad Schneider, an Illinois Democrat whose district includes Highland Park, told ABC News on "GMA3."
"The House has passed legislation to require universal background checks. Ninety percent of the country supports that legislation," Schneider said. "We need to pass it and make it law. We can ban the sale of these assault weapons, make it harder for people to get the large capacity magazines that allow them to fire off 60 rounds in just a matter of seconds."
Vice President Kamala Harris also made an impassioned plea for an assault weapons ban during a visit to Chicago on Tuesday.
"An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly. There is no reason that we have weapons of war on the streets of America. We need reasonable gun safety laws," Harris said as she addressed the National Education Association. After that meeting, Harris visited the Highland Park shooting scene.
But any additional gun restrictions will face an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats need 10 Republican votes to clear the filibuster.
Republicans responded to Monday's shooting by continuing to blame mental health issues rather than access to assault weapons.
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, who backed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, said Tuesday that the "problem is mental health and these young men who seem to be inspired to commit these atrocities."
Democrats are encouraging voters ahead of the 2022 midterm elections to support candidates who back stronger gun control.
"It's not going to happen tomorrow," said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois. "It's going to happen when the American people speak up and elect those who really want to make a change that'll make America safer."
