Will Texas Pass A “Red Flag” Law To Remove Guns From People Who Are Deemed Dangerous?

Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune Travis County Judge Mike Denton describes the conditions — including the surrender of any guns — of a family violence protective order in his courtroom Friday, June 15, 2018. It’s become a common refrain after each new mass shooting: “There were red flags.” Before 26 people died in a rural church in Sutherland Springs in November, the shooter had escaped from a mental health facility, received a domestic violence conviction and had a standoff with police. Before the February massacre of 17 students and staff at a high school in Parkland, Florida , there were repeated calls to the police and multiple warnings about a potential school shooting to the FBI. As mass shootings continue, more and more states have adopted “red flag” laws that allow law enforcement, and sometimes family members or other parties, to ask a court to order the seizure or surrender of guns from people who are deemed dangerous by a judge. After Texas’ second high-profile mass shooting in six months — a Santa Fe High School student has been charged with last month’s slaying of 10 students and teachers at the school — lawmakers are discussing whether this notably pro-gun state needs its own red flag measure. Similar bills have died quickly and quietly in the Legislature before, but this time the idea is coming straight from the governor’s office. In his 43-page school safety plan , Gov. Greg Abbott , a Republican supported by the National Rifle […]

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