'Red flag' laws that allow for temporary restrictions on access to guns gain momentum across nation

Show Caption Hide Caption Teen voices stand tall during the March for Our Lives Protesters explain why they’ve had #enough and give their thoughts on gun control during the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., March 24, 2018.

WASHINGTON – States across the country are taking a closer look at “red flag” laws since an alleged gunman, 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 first-time 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, while 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, including March for Our Lives protests Saturday in Washington, D.C., and across the nation.

“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 in her Arizona district. “I think what communities and legislators are asking themselves is: What can we do to make sure this doesn’t happen here?”

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.

Here’s more on the bills:

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.

A longer order can be issued during the full hearing if there is enough evidence that the person is dangerous.

Connecticut, Indiana and Florida allow law enforcement to petition the court system, while California, Washington and Oregon also allow petitions from family and household members in addition to law enforcement, according to Giffords.

A week after Florida’s legislation was signed, a Broward County judge in Florida issued the state’s first order to temporarily remove firearms from a man who allegedly believed he was being electrocuted by condominium electrical breakers and targeted by the FBI and a shape-shifting neighbor, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Four firearms and 267 rounds of ammunition were removed, and the man was taken to a hospital for involuntary psychiatric treatment.

“I think this is what the general public has been looking for — for law enforcement to be able to intervene in these kinds of situations — for a long time,” Lighthouse Point Police Chief Ross Licata told the Sun Sentinel.

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Whose bills have momentum?

States are clearly taking the lead on these 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 the latest school shooting killed two students, including the shooter. The bill passed the state House of Delegates 116-17 this month and now awaits Senate action.

Democratic Del. Geraldine Valentino-Smith, the bill’s sponsor, said most people who contacted her office about the bill when she introduced it last fall were more directly concerned about preventing suicide. Then came other shootings in Maryland and Parkland.

“Certainly, the interest in it has been heightened by the recent tragedies,” she said.

While Florida passed its law, a small number of other states defeated bills that were introduced or carried over this year, according to Everytown.

In Congress, bipartisan bills are pending to give states incentives to enact such laws or create a process for federal courts to issue the restraining orders.

What does the NRA say?

The National Rifle Association has started talking about the types of red-flag provisions the group would support, rather than the types it opposes — a subtle change in emphasis that recently caught the attention of gun-control advocates.

In an NRATV video, the group’s top lobbyist said Congress should provide funding for states to adopt “risk protection orders.”

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.

Baker couldn’t point to pending legislation the NRA believes provides adequate due-process protections, but she said she’s confident such a bill will be offered. NRA support hinges on multiple requirements, including that the gun owner get treatment.

The NRA has fought red-flag legislation in at least 17 states as "anti-gun." This month, the NRA helped defeat a red-flag law in Utah. More recently, the association urged its members to lobby against the Maryland legislation because it "lacks basic due process protections and is ripe for abuse."

What’s the president's position?

Vice President Pence highlighted the restraining orders during a meeting last month with President Trump and members of Congress in response to the Parkland shooting. Pence, a former governor of Indiana, said the laws allow due process, “so that no one’s rights are trampled.”

That prompted the president’s now famous complaint about lengthy court proceedings. “Take the guns first, go through due process second,” he recommended.

In the end, the White House’s gun safety plan calls on states to adopt extreme risk protection orders that are “carefully tailored to ensure due process rights.”

Trump directed the Department of Justice to provide technical assistance to states that want to implement the orders, but that effort isn’t yet underway. The Justice Department is in the process of studying the orders and evaluating what kind of assistance it can provide, said Ian Prior, a department spokesman.

“Only a small number of states currently have laws of this type but bills are pending in many others, so the landscape is rapidly evolving and it is difficult to forecast how we might best assist states, at their request,” Prior said.