Ethics & Religion
Column #1,981
August 8, 2019
Red Flag Laws Not Enough
By Mike McManus
A consensus is emerging in support of so-called "Red Flag Laws" which
are intended to restrict potentially dangerous people from access to
weapons that kill. They are state laws that authorize courts to issue a
special type of protection order, allowing police to temporarily
confiscate firearms from people who are deemed by a judge to be a danger
to themselves or others.
Some 21 states have passed a Red Flag Law such as Florida, New York,
Connecticut, California, Illinois, Virginia and Indiana. Before the 2018
mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,
Florida - only five states had such laws.
California's law is the most sophisticated. It was the first to permit
family members to petition the courts directly for orders to confiscate
weapons from relatives. Earlier versions of the law required the public
to make recommendations to a prosecutor or police who would decide
whether to petition the courts.
California's law was enacted after a gunman killed 6 people and wounded
14 others in 2014 near the Santa Barbara campus of the University of
California.
New York's law is one of the most recent and allows teachers as well as
family members and others to petition the court for protective orders.
Connecticut was the first state to pass a Red Flag Law in 1999 after an
accountant at the state lottery fatally stabbed and shot four of his
supervisors and then himself.
Red Flag Laws have been stalled in Congress, but some key Republicans
recently have supported the initiative. Federal bills would encourage
more states to pass such laws by offering federal grants. Sen. Lindsey
Graham, Republican of South Carolina and chairman of the Judiciary
Committee, said he supports such a bill.
Because a Red Flag Law would not restrict gun access at the federal
level, it is seen as more likely than other measures to pass. President
Trump has expressed his support, but recently said he would veto it.
The National Rifle Association has offered support for the concept of
keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people, but it has
opposed Red Flag Laws, arguing that they go too far in allowing courts
to confiscate guns from people who have not committed a crime.
Connecticut's experience has not been encouraging. The gunman who killed
26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School had access to guns even though
people who knew him said he had shown troubling signs before the attack.
However, Red Flag measures have removed guns from people believed to be
threats to themselves or their families. Research in Connecticut and
Indiana found that for every 10 to 20 confiscations under the law, there
was one less death than would have been expected.
Those subject to the confiscation orders were 30 times more likely than
the average person to commit suicide. Thus the law is reducing the
number of suicides.
What ought to be considered are two more important measures with broad
support that have passed the House, but been blocked in the Senate:
- Renewal of the expired ban on the sale of assault weapons, such as the
AR-15 which killed 9 people in Dayton last weekend in less than a
minute, and high capacity magazines like the 100 round drum of the
Dayton shooter.
- A universal background check system for all gun purchasers, including
those on the Internet and those sold at gun shows, and extend waiting
periods for would-be gun buyers flagged by the instant check system -a
measure which has the support of 80% to 90% of Americans.
Sen. Patrick Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, pledged to revive his
background checks bill which fell in a filibuster in 2013. Sen. Richard
Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, said "There's nothing more strongly
supported by the American people than background checks."
Blumenthal and other Democratic Senators are demanding that Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell bring the Senate back from its August
recess to vote on the House-passed bill on background checks.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senate Leader, argued, "The idea of a
Red Flag law is O.K., but it doesn't substitute" for a universal
background checks bill which passed the House by a vote of 240 to 190.
It was the first time either chamber has passed a bill intended to
reduce gun violence since 1994, a quarter century ago.
It's high time for the Senate to pass a Red Flag bill, a background
checks law and an assault weapons ban - before more lives are lost.
__________________________
Copyright (c) 2018 Michael J. McManus, President of Marriage Savers and
a syndicated columnist. To read past columns, go to
www.ethicsandreligion.com. Hit
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