SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KSWB) -- A pair of California senators introduced new legislation this week that would bolster red flag gun laws.
What are red flag guns laws?
They allow certain people to petition a court to have firearms taken from someone they consider to be a possible threat to themselves or others. Oftentimes, this is a family member or the police.
How does it work?
In a state with red flag gun laws, like California, a community member must first file a petition in court, asking for firearms to be confiscated from a person of concern.
Once the petition is filed, a judge will decide to grant or deny that request to remove guns and ban new firearm purchases. The person in question is allowed to appeal the decision.
If a judge does decide to grant the request, the length of time firearms are taken from the individual typically lasts up to a year but can vary for each case.
Newly introduced legislation
State Senators Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, announced on Thursday SB 899, an act to establish uniform standards for the Golden State's gun violence restraining order law.
What this measure aims to do, according to the senators, is to make it easier for California courts to ensure that "people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others no longer have access to firearms."
Put simply, SB 899 would establish uniform standards for California’s red flag laws, also conforming to recently enacted rules governing California’s domestic violence restraining order law.
“We must do everything we can to prevent gun violence,” said Sen. Blakespear said. “That means ensuring that current laws are working as designed. Right now, only domestic violence restraining orders require courts to follow-up on whether a firearm was properly turned over as required by law."
The lawmaker went on to explain that SB 899 makes this practice consistent across all restraining order types. Blakespear said this helps "keep firearms out of the hands of people who should not have them."
A decade ago, Sen. Skinner authored the country’s first red flag law, known as AB 1014. She said it was designed to keep firearms out of the hands of those threatening violence to themselves or others.
"California has also enacted laws to help victims of domestic violence, schools and workplaces get guns away from those threatening harm. But too many people don’t turn over their guns as ordered,” said Sen. Skinner said. “By giving our courts and law enforcement tools to ensure that guns are surrendered, SB 899 will make our gun violence prevention laws work as intended.”