Sen. Rubio pushes federal red-flag bill on firearms

Bill would provide federal funding to help other states implement law similar to one in Florida

Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is reintroducing a bill that seeks to encourage states to pass red-flag laws that would make it easier for courts to disarm dangerous people.

The measure has garnered bipartisan support in the wake of the Feb. 14 Parkland massacre that left 17 people dead.

Florida state lawmakers passed a red-flag law after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Rubio’s bill, reintroduced on Thursday, would provide federal funding to help other states implement similar laws.

“This idea has already proven successful in states like Florida, and it is my hope that this bill will get all the other states in the country to do the same thing,” Rubio said in a prepared statement.

Florida’s law allows law enforcement to petition a court to bar dangerous people from purchasing or possessing guns.

Rubio first introduced the bill in March, but it did not pass. Demo- cratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson also supported the bill. Nelson lost his re-election bid to outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who signed Florida’s measure into state law.

A dozen states have laws allowing either law enforcement, family members or mental health workers to seek a court order disarming a dangerous person, according to the Giffords Law Center, an organization that advocates for tighter restrictions on guns.

Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed and independent Maine Sen. Angus King are also sponsoring the bill.

MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/SUN SENTINEL FILE PHOTO Sen. Marco Rubio, right, discusses gun violence during a town hall meeting in February.