- President Trump has put his support behind red flag gun laws in the wake of two mass shootings over the weekend
- A red flag law would allow those who notice warning signs from someone who seems like they are suffering from mental illness or some sort of crisis to seek a court order to intervene and temporarily prevent that person from having access to firearms
- Red flag laws only exist on the state level with only 17 states and Washington, D.C. with such laws
- Before the Parkland, Florida school shooting, there were only 5 states with red flag gun laws.
- After the shooting, the number of states with red flag gun laws increased with Florida, Vermont, Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, Illinois, Washington, DC, New York, Nevada, Hawaii and Colorado passing laws
- Opponents of red flag gun laws are worried the laws would give authorities the right to seize people’s guns without due process
- Sen. Lindsey Graham said he and Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal are working on a federal grant program that would enforce existing red flag laws and to encourage other states to adopt such laws
- The grants would allow law enforcement to hire and consult with mental health professionals to make determinations on actions and would require rapid due process and judicial review
- Graham said he hopes the grant will have bipartisan support and will introduce legislation soon
More information:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/05/politics/red-flag-gun-law-explainer-donal…
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