By: José Niño

A man from Upland, California was recently charged for threatening his employers and co-workers after he was furloughed from his job at a tire warehouse.

Law enforcement seized firearms, ammunition, and a machete from Eder Simiano throughout the investigation, according to a report from Irwindale Police Sergeant Rudy Gatto.

Court records showed that Simiano ended up not pleading guilty to four counts of making criminal threats and one count of a prohibited person in possession of ammunition, according to court records.

Law enforcement responded to a call where Simiano allegedly made criminal threats. By the time Irwindale police officers arrived, the suspect fled the scene. Simiano was described as a transient who possessed various firearms and frequently visited Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

Police eventually pulled over Simiano during a traffic stop where they discovered the suspect with knives and machete. Other police officers found guns and ammunition after issuing a search warrant for different locations. Law enforcement sources did not reveal when the search was done.

Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms correctly notes that there was no red flag law needed in this case. Simiano’s arrest was due to his threats, which constituted a criminal action and gave law enforcement probable cause to determine if he had the means to see his threats through.

Edwards rights:

Simiano was arrested because he made threats–a criminal action–which gave them probable cause to see if he had the means to carry out his threats. It turned out, he did and they even uncovered evidence of another crime, at least allegedly.

No matter how many laws you pass, what you need to thwart mass shootings often isn’t some new law, but actual use of the ones we have. Planning a mass shooting is illegal. Further, that planning rarely happens in a vacuum. There’s rarely a shooter so put together that no one ever gets a glimpse of what’s transpiring.

The point here is that there are current laws on the books that can actually be used to fight crime. Rational law enforcement, not arbitrary gun control such as red flag gun confiscation orders, is what works in stopping crime. It’s clear that the passage of red flag laws and similar anti-gun policies are not about curtailing criminals.

At the end of the day, gun control disproportionately hurts the law-abiding, while allowing criminals to have a field day against the disarmed. The U.S. already has too much gun control as it is, and we should not let gun control boosters shape the narrative when we have plenty of other alternatives to handle crime.

José Niño is a Venezuelan American freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.