‘Red flag’ gun laws gain favor in states
Bills restrict firearms for people who pose threat
WASHINGTON – States across the country are taking a closer look at “red flag” laws since a former student, long known to law enforcement as troubled, was accused in the mass shooting in February at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
The laws allow family members or law enforcement to seek a court order to temporarily restrict people’s access to firearms when they show “red flags” that they are a danger to themselves or others.
After the shooting, Florida became the sixth state to pass a red-flag law, and other state lawmakers introduced a flurry of new bills, including firsttime legislation in more than a handful of states, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group. Bills are now pending in 22 states and the District of Columbia,
and bipartisan efforts are coming together in Congress.
Many of those efforts came before Parkland, but they are getting more attention now as students protest legislative inaction on gun violence as they did over the weekend with the March for Our Lives protests.
“In this post-Parkland environment, those bills across the country are taking on renewed significance,” said Robin Lloyd of the gun control group Giffords, named for former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in 2011 during a political event.
Though supporters say the bills can prevent tragedies, critics say they have the potential to deprive gun owners of due process and their Second Amendment rights.
How do they work?
Red-flag laws vary by state, but they generally allow law enforcement or family members to petition a judge for a “gun violence restraining order” or “extreme risk protection order” to temporarily restrict a person’s access to firearms.
The judge can issue an emergency, temporary order — without the gun owner being present — to prevent immediate danger. But a full hearing must be scheduled quickly, offering the gun owner the ability to respond.
Connecticut, Indiana and Florida allow law enforcement to petition the court system, while California, Washington and Oregon allow petitions from family and household members in addition to law enforcement, according to Giffords, the gun-control group.
Whose bills have momentum?
States are clearly taking the lead on such laws. Even before Parkland, 19 states and the District of Columbia had red-flag bills pending in their legislatures, according to Everytown.
Among the 22 states with pending bills is Maryland, where a school shooting this month killed two students, including the shooter. The bill passed the state House of Delegates 116-17 this month and awaits Senate action.
In Congress, bipartisan bills are pending to give states incentives to enact such laws or create a process for federal courts to issue restraining orders.
What does the NRA say?
The National Rifle Association has started talking about the types of redflag provisions the group would support rather than the types it opposes — a subtle change in emphasis that recently caught the attention of guncontrol advocates.
But the association says its position hasn’t changed. “Our position has always been dangerous people should not have access to firearms,” said NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker.
What’s the president’s position?
The White House’s gun safety plan calls on states to adopt extreme riskprotection orders that are “carefully tailored to ensure due-process rights.”
President Trump has directed the Department of Justice to provide technical assistance to states that want to implement the orders, but that effort has not begun. The Justice Department is evaluating what kind of assistance it can provide, said Ian Prior, a department spokesman.