A debate worth having

The mass shootings in Texas and Ohio have amplified the push for “red flag” laws that allow guns to be confiscated from people deemed immediate threats. It's a debate well worth having, although the idea likely faces a tough road in Oklahoma.

At a recent town hall meeting, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, noted in answering a question about gun control that every other household in his congressional district owns a gun. The statistics likely are similar across this deep red state, where residents overwhelmingly support the Second Amendment and are leery of efforts to curb its protections.

Seventeen states, most of them left-leaning, have red flag laws. The first was approved by Connecticut in 1999 after a shooting at the state's lottery office. Eight states and the District of Columbia passed red flag laws last year following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Four more states have approved them this year.

In general, the laws let judges prohibit people from

buying or having firearms if they're deemed to pose a significant danger. If a second hearing provides the judge with convincing evidence to support the initial request for confiscation, then the order can be in effect up to a year.

Petitioners can vary. Many states let family members or relatives make the request to a court. In Maryland, valid petitioners include a mental health provider or even someone dating the gun owner. Indiana's law allows only law enforcement to petition to seize weapons. Under New York's law, approved this year, teachers and school administrators can seek an extreme risk protection order, as can police and family members.

According to The Associated Press, in 2018 more than 1,700 orders were issued allowing guns to be seized under red flag laws.

Some have called on Congress to pass red flag legislation, but this is something best handled by individual states. A primary challenge is crafting a law that doesn't trample on constitutional rights.

U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, told a recent town hall audience, “The potential for abuse there on down the road is incredible.” That sentiment is shared by at least one Oklahoma district judge who wrote us recently to express his reservations about red flag laws.

Rep. Kendra Horn of Oklahoma City, the only Democrat in Oklahoma's congressional delegation, agrees caution is needed on this issue, in part because of its potential impact on those with mental illness.

“Not everyone who lives with mental health issues is a danger to themselves or others,” Horn said last week. “So when we're thinking about these things, we have to make sure that we're not further stigmatizing mental health.”

It's a good point. Yet Oklahoma's high rate of mental illness, something publicized extensively in recent years amid efforts to secure more state funding and treatment, could be viewed as exactly the reason to have a red flag law.

This is an emotional issue with no easy solution. But the conversation around it is worthwhile and needs to continue.