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Q&A of the Day – What’s in the Senate Gun Control Framework & Risk Protection Orders
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
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Today’s entry: Red Flag law. Can you please elaborate what does this really mean? If you go to doc for depression they report you? Won’t this do more to harm the mentally ill? Why don’t they ever discuss mediations? God bless your show for keeping us informed!
Bottom Line: As I’ve recently covered Florida’s gun control measures passed as part of 2018’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Act, I’ve continued to receive a regular flow of questions. Most of them have been about red flag laws and risk protection orders. Much of what’s confusing about varying gun control laws and specifically risk protection orders, is that all currently in force are at the state level, and they’re all a little different. It’s easy to hear about what’s happening in one state and think it’s potentially the law in Florida. As I recently covered in a Q&A addressing the frequency of use of risk protection orders in Florida, I brought you this:
Specific to Florida’s risk protection order, it enabled law enforcement to be able to carry out a warrant to search and detain firearms from a person deemed to be a credible mental health risk under the state’s law. Once the order is carried out, a legal process ensues and ultimately, it’s a judge’s discretion as to if the firearms are to be returned to those they were detained from originally.
That’s the key here. In the state of Florida only law enforcement officers or law enforcement agencies may file for a Risk Protection Order. This is commonly misunderstood, as it's known that family members and/or those who live with individuals may play a role. They may report their concerns to law enforcement, however law enforcement must make a determination that the threats are credible and worthy of filing for an RPO. Here’s what Florida law specifically mandates:
(a) A petition for a risk protection order may be filed by a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency.
(b) An action under this section must be filed in the county where the petitioner’s law enforcement office is located or the county where the respondent resides.
(e) A petition must:
1. Allege that the respondent poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself or herself or others by having a firearm or any ammunition in his or her custody or control or by purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or any ammunition, and must be accompanied by an affidavit made under oath stating the specific statements, actions, or facts that give rise to a reasonable fear of significant dangerous acts by the respondent
So, there’s no allowance for a medical professional to petition for a risk protection order in our state. There are nineteen states and Washington D.C. which currently have risk protection orders in place. Florida’s law, which mandates law enforcement petition, is similar to laws in Connecticut, Indiana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virigina. There are currently two states and the District of Columbia which do allow medical professionals to petition a court – Hawaii and Maryland. New York allows school administrators to petition as does Hawaii – which also allows coworkers. So yes, the state you live in matters. And specific to risk protection orders, that’s not going to change.
Notably, in the Senate framework for federal gun control measures – there's no federal risk protection order included. What is included is:
- State Crisis Intervention Support
- Enhanced background checks for those under 21
- Crackdown on “Straw” buyers of firearms
- Mental Health Services funding
- New regulations for licensed gun dealers
- Criminal background checks for those convicted of domestic violence attempting to purchase firearms
- School Safety funding
Specific to the risk protection order conversation – the state crisis intervention support measure is aimed at encouraging states to create their own risk protection programs as opposed to the federal administration of one. That’s mostly relevant to the 31 states which don’t currently have risk protection orders in place. Hopefully this fully answered your questions and provides clarity on what’s real and what’s not with risk protection orders.