Don’t take our guns to cover up mental health needs

Re: “We should have taken his guns,” July 29 editorial

I would like to bring to light a few omissions in your editorial. The “red flag law” mentioned is actually an attempt to correct a major flaw in the Colorado universal background check law passed in 2013.

Many people don’t know that the law makes it illegal for friends and many loved ones to remove firearms from the possession of those in crisis. Given that Colorado is ranked seventh in the nation for the highest number of suicides, this is a problem. The solution, it seems, is to have the police intervene and forcefully seize possession of any firearms that a person in crisis has.

Senate Bill 207 signed into law a year ago changed the practice of putting people in crisis in jail for three days where they would receive little evalua- tion and certainly no treatment in an environment that can only serve to worsen their symptoms.

The problem is there are no alternatives available in any quantity. You admitted that the $7 million in pot money is not enough. That’s an understatement.

In a state with an annual budget of $28.9 billion, $7 million is a shameful embarrassment. Multiply that number by 10, and in a decade’s time, we might have a somewhat respectable down payment on improving our mental health care system that has been deteriorating for years.

Your piece assumes that there are remedies to restore the rights of the individual when none exist — rights that were taken over something that might occur. This law would not protect the public.