ROCKVILLE, Md. — The prospects for federal gun safety legislation grew brighter Tuesday when Republican Leader Senator Mitch McConnell said he is likely to support a compromise announced over the weekend.
One major component of the deal would support all 50 states in adopting so-called “Red Flag” laws.
Montgomery County's Sheriff Darren Popkin says that Maryland's Red Flag law has saved lives.
"This is no longer theoretical," Popkin said, after reviewing statewide data for the past three and a half years.
Popkin revealed a sampling of guns currently in secure storage in the county after judges ordered seizures when they determined that individuals made credible threats of suicide, murder or mass shootings. Included in the collection were numerous AR-15 style semi-automatic rifles, handguns, and components to make unregistered and untraceable "ghost guns."
Maryland's law allows judges to issue Emergency Risk Protective Orders or ERPOs in a matter of hours after police, family members, or mental health providers report Red Flag-type behavior. Police or sheriff's deputies may then seize the guns immediately, while courts determine within 7 days whether the threats are credible, or whether the individual making threats might need mental health intervention.
In those cases, the order is made final, which allows authorities to keep the guns for up to 1 year. Guns are returned, but only if the individual may legally possess guns.
Among those who are prohibited from having guns are people with felony and domestic violence convictions, as well as those who have been confined to a mental health facility for more than 30 days.
Popkin says seizures have averaged between 700 and 800 weapons annually statewide in Maryland. Guns are returned in about 400 of those cases annually, Popkin said.
David Pucino, an attorney for the Gifford’s Law Center, a Gun Safety Group, says Red Flag laws should exist in every state.
Pucino says the laws are compatible with second amendment protections.
"It's only applied in the case of a person who's in crisis, and I think we can all agree a person who has extreme suicidal thoughts or a person who is thinking about carrying out a heinous act or crime is a person who shouldn't have a gun in that moment," Pucino said.
"It's not a policy that's designed to disarm anyone else. So it's a really effective way to get at the highest risk individuals while not infringing on gun ownership for folks who are not at high risk," Pucino added.
Popkin said until Maryland's Red Flag law was passed, authorities could not seize weapons from people who had not committed a crime.
"As we all look back after tragedies occur, what could we have done better?" Popkins asked. "This is one of those laws where I would say it falls into the category of, yes, this is what made it better.”
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have Red Flag laws.
The federal Gun Safety Law now being negotiated in Congress would pave the way for all 50 states, Pucino said.
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The laws are meant to prevent firearm misuse.