Maryland sheriff cites 302 ‘red flags’

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A new Maryland law that allows courts to temporarily restrict firearms access for people at risk to themselves or others resulted in more than 300 protective orders, five of which were related to schools, the sheriff of the state’s most populous county told lawmakers Tuesday.

Montgomery County Sheriff Darren Popkin told a panel of state lawmakers that 302 orders were sought under the state’s “red flag” law in the three months since the law took effect Oct. 1. He said five of them related to schools, and four of those five “were significant threats.”

“Because of the confidentiality that’s built into this piece of legislation, I can’t get into details of any of those, however, I will tell you that they were significant and firearms were seized in each one of those cases, and it was good that these orders were not only sought, but issued and served in each one of those cases,” Popkin told the Maryland House Judiciary Committee.

Maryland was one of eight states that passed “red flag” legislation last year in the aftermath of the Parkland, Fla., shooting that killed 17 people in February. Five states already had similar laws. The 13 states with “red flag” laws are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.