'Red Flag' Gun Laws Grow Since Parkland Shooting

In the year since the deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school, more and more states have passed laws making it easier to take guns away from people who may be suicidal or bent on violence against others, and courts are issuing an unprecedented number of seizure orders across the country, the AP reports. Supporters say these "red flag" laws are among the most promising tools to reduce the nearly 40,000 suicides and homicides by firearm each year in the US. Gun advocates, though, say such measures undermine their constitutional rights and can result in people being stripped of their weapons on false or vindictive accusations. Nine states have passed laws over the past year allowing police or household members to seek court orders requiring people deemed threatening to temporarily surrender their guns, bringing the total to 14.

Several more are likely to follow in the months ahead. More than 1,700 orders allowing guns to be seized for weeks, months, or up to a year were issued in 2018 by the courts after they determined the individuals were a threat to themselves or others, according to data from several states. The actual number is probably much higher since the data was incomplete and didn't include California. The laws gained momentum after it was learned that the young man accused in the Florida attack, Nikolas Cruz, was widely known to be mentally troubled yet had access to weapons, including the assault-style rifle used to kill 17 students and staff members last Valentine's Day at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (A Parkland father joked about "kids getting shot"—but it was no joke.)