Renewed Calls for Stricter Gun Control Laws After Fatal Clinic Shooting

(KNSI) – A renewed call for stricter gun control laws is emerging after a report shows the suspect in a fatal shooting at a clinic in Buffalo legally obtained his gun permit, despite having disqualifiers on his record.

Kris Brown of the gun control nonprofit group Brady United says expanded background checks and an increase in mental health care access is needed, and now.

“It’s unimaginable that you’re going to work, and that your society doesn’t protect you from known, dangerous people.”

Brown agrees mental health access should be a priority, but she says gun violence prevention laws need to be strengthened as well. She notes that with greater demand for mental health care during the pandemic, along with a surge in gun sales, the time to act is now.

“We really need policies in effect to de-couple those risks with someone having easy access to a loaded weapon. ”

67-year-old Gregory Ulrich is accused of shooting five people – one of them fatally – at the Allina Crossroads Clinic on February 9th. Ulrich had reportedly threatened to carry out a mass shooting at that clinic in 2018. He was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial after allegedly violating a restraining order against him by the clinic. A move that disqualified him from owning a gun. A report done by the Star Tribune shows someone at the Buffalo Police Department granted a gun permit to Ulrich, but privacy laws prevent the release of saying exactly who it was. The Buffalo Police Chief declined to comment.

Brown says if anyone is concerned about legislation her group supports, she claims it is consistent with the Second Amendment.

“This is about life-saving, public safety laws. And it’s about our public health, and I think Americans well understand that.”

With Democrats gaining control in Washington, Brady United hopes Congress comes back to the issue.