House passes ‘red flag’ gun legislation

The legislation, dubbed the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order, passed in a 224-202 vote. Two Republicans did not vote.

Five Republicans — Reps. Fred Upton (Mich.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Chris Jacobs (N.Y.) — bucked the GOP in voting for the measure, and Democratic Rep. Jared Golden (Maine) broke from the party in opposing the bill.

Passage of the measure came one day after the House cleared a sweeping gun package that, among other provisions, called for raising the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21 and banning civilian use of high-capacity weapons.

Both pieces of legislation were brought up in response to last month’s mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Uvalde, Texas.

The red flag bill — introduced by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), whose son died by gun violence in 2012 — would authorize family members and law enforcement officers to petition U.S. district courts to issue federal extreme protection orders that would temporarily prohibit individuals from purchasing or possessing firearms.

The orders can either be short-term, lasting for a maximum of 14 days and issued without a hearing, or long-term, remaining in existence for 180 days and require a hearing to be issued.

Petitioners must provide evidence that the individual of concern poses an imminent risk to themselves or others by purchasing, possessing or receiving firearms or ammunition. For long-term orders, petitioners must prove that the subject of the measure poses an injury risk to themselves or others through buying, possessing or receiving a firearm or ammunition.

If the court determines that an extreme risk protection order is necessary, individuals subject to the measure must surrender their firearms and ammunition, and are barred from purchasing or possessing firearms during the duration of the order.

The bill also allocates grant funding to states in an effort to bolster implementation of state extreme risk laws that are already on the books, and to urge more states to enact such measures. Additionally, the legislation requires that law enforcement is trained to safely, impartially and effectively use extreme risk protection orders. LINK