As they waited for a court hearing needed for a full protection order, Ms. Dye and her family begged the local police to take away his guns. People on the watch lists, which can include tens of thousands of names, have no opportunity to contest their inclusion in a court of law, gun rights proponents point out. While Mr. Mateen might have exhibited worrisome red flags, his behavior had never risen to the level that involved a full-fledged court process, or some other official proceeding, that would have blocked him. The same applies to Mr. Loughner and Mr. Alexis, as clearly mentally unstable as they both were in retrospect. It is a relatively high bar, given the range of behaviors that might trigger alarms about someone having a gun.

Source: New York Times June 13, 2016 20:40 UTC