Legislator is gunning for common sense

Tom Killion is not just shooting off his mouth.

And he does not care that his opinion – that so-called “red-flag laws” are commonsense gun control that can save lives – is not shared by many in Harrisburg, including many in his own party. And he’s not alone. On Tuesday, Killion, R-9th Dist., held a forum in Chester County to focus attention on his Senate Bill 90. The bill would allow for an Extreme Risk Protection Order, or ERPO. Under the measure, a member of law enforcement or a family member can go to court and make the argument that a person believed to be a danger to themselves or others should have their firearms temporarily taken away.

Critics rely on an old argument, that the guns are not the problem. As usual, they oppose any such measure as the first step to eroding their Second Amendment rights.

Don’t try selling that to Jennifer Lugar. The Chester County woman joined Killion at the hearing, which was sponsored by anti-gun violence groups Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action.

Lugar lost her husband to gun violence. He took his own life with a bullet.

“Ten years ago last Wednesday, my husband, who was smart and funny and a great dad, ended his life with a bullet,” Lugar told those gathered. “He had been struggling with depression and anxiety.”

He struggled with mental health issues for months, and at one point she took away the gun he used for recreational shooting at their mountain home in North Carolina. He told the doctor and his wife that he was fine and he returned to North Carolina – with the gun. He took his life surrounded by police officers who were trying to help him.

Another victim of gun violence, Starr Cummin Bright, told of her ordeal after surviving a church shooting in Chester County. The man who shot her had threatened his sister with a gun. Police told her if she did not file charges against him the gun would be returned to him.

“If there had been another way of getting the gun away from him, such as an Extreme Risk Protection Order,” Bright told the panel, “she could have petitioned the court to remove the gun from this man and I wouldn’t have been shot. I don’t want anyone to have to undergo what I’ve been through.” Neither does Killion. “This is not an anti-Second Amendment bill,” Killion stressed about the fundamental right of citizens to own guns. “This is a bill simply of common sense … This is what we call common-sense legislation.”

Last week in the state Capital, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee made it clear he was not interested in considering any such “red-flag” measures. Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-89 of Franklin County, said his panel would not be considering any similar provision so long as he is chairman.

Kauffman gets support from gun rights groups, including The Firearms Coalition.

Jeff Knox, the group’s director, says such measures unfairly single out firearms.

“The ERPO law doesn’t take away vehicles, knives or matches … Only guns. Guns are being used as a scapegoat to avoid addressing the real problems with real solutions. Anyone who is a serious threat to himself needs treatment and close observation, not police demanding his firearms.” We agree. But we disagree that it is outside the realm of “common sense” that people in such a state should continue to possess firearms.

Killion stressed that his measure does not skirt due process, and the firearm is not taken away permanently, only until the situation is resolved.

“The process is full of legal protection for the gun owners,” Killion said. “At the hearing, the gun owner is able to testify, present witnesses, present evidence, cross-examine and be represented by counsel. You can’t get more due process than that.”

Sounds like you can’t get much more common sense, either. Just ask Starr Cummin Bright or Jennifer Lugar.

Killion is undeterred. He is vowing to push for passage in the Senate when they return in a few weeks and hopes for passage before the end of the year. Once that occurs, we can turn up the heat on the House. Take our best shot, you might say.