MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A bill to establish a procedure for removing firearms from those deemed to be an “immediate and present danger” to themselves or others has been introduced in the Alabama Legislature.
State Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, has brought similar ‘red flag’ legislation in the past when she was a member of the House of Representatives. During a recent appearance on APT’s Capitol Journal, Coleman said she hopes to work across the aisle and with law enforcement to make this proposal a reality.
“What it does in essence is give law enforcement a tool to remove guns from a person who shows that they are a threat to themselves or others,” Coleman said. “I’m willing to sit down with anybody to have discussions about what a ‘red flag’ type bill should look like.
“I don’t want the state of Alabama and Gov. Ivey to have to come out after a school shooting has happened, like the governor of Tennessee who is now saying he does support some type of ‘red flag’ legislation,” Coleman added. “I don’t want us in Alabama to have to respond a mass shooting before we do something.”
On Saturday, days after Coleman’s comments on air, four people were killed and several more injured in a shooting a 16 year birthday party in Dadeville. It is not yet known what led to the shooting or whether a suspect has been identified, according to the latest reporting from the Associated Press.
Senate Bill 126, dubbed the Gun Violence Protective Order Act, would authorize courts to issue protective orders if they find an individual “poses an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to self or others.” Such orders would require those individuals to surrender all firearms in their possession to law enforcement and last for one year.
Coleman said she has been working with a group of judges and prosecutors to fine tune the bill’s details. She said she is also eager to meet with gun groups to get their perspective.
“We would love to sit down at the table. I’m a gun owner myself. I don’t want anybody to take my guns away from me, but I also want to be able to remove guns from those who don’t need to have them.”
The subject of ‘red flag’ laws came up on another recent episode of Capitol Journal when Montgomery County District Attorney Darryl Bailey and Barry Matson, Executive Director of the Alabama District Attorneys Association, were asked about the issue. Matson said his group has seen multiple proposals in recent years and that “the devil is in the details.”
“What happens is… a family member, public, law enforcement or someone has identified that a person is a threat to the community and that possessing firearms enhances that threat, and then someone has to go there and remove the firearm. The problem is the list of who can bring that petition, and then second amendment advocates are fearful of what happens when you get on a list and who could bring that complaint, and whether once [a law] is on the books it can be broadened.”
Matson also brought up the physical threat to officers executing gun removal orders.
“It’s also kind of a danger to law enforcement if you say, ‘okay, go to that house and take those guns from that person.’ There’s almost no way that is not going to potentially be a violent encounter,” Matson said.
“I think there is probably common ground where all sides can sit down and agree to certain language, I just haven’t seen it in Alabama yet.”