President Trump addresses Red Flag laws amid shootings
After this weekend’s shooting attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, President Donald Trump came forward Monday morning as a supporter of Red Flag laws.
Colorado is among 15 states that have such a law, but many are still divided on the issue of taking guns away from people deemed a risk to themselves and others. Red Flag bills allow family, household members, or law enforcement to petition a court to have guns seized from an owner if they believe he or she poses a threat.
“Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,” said President Trump.
Monday, he vowed action after the recent shootings in El Paso and Dayton.
“We must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to the public safety do not have access to firearms and if they do, those firearms can be taken through rapid due process. That’s why I have called for Red Flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders,” Trump said.
The president also addressed the role that social media takes on detecting mass shooters before they strike.
“The monster in the Parkland High School in Florida had many red flags against him, and yet nobody took decisive action,” President Trump said.
But Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, a gun lobbying group, says it violates and even strips Coloradans of their constitutional rights.
“The president coming out and endorsing universal background checks, which is what he did this morning, once again it’s a solution for nothing. It wouldn’t have stopped the shooters and neither would the red flag law,” said Dudley Brown, the founder of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.
The group is also behind several recall efforts including one against State Rep. Tom Sullivan.
At the center of the debate is Sullivan’s gun control advocacy and support for the red flag law, which was sparked after he lost his son in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting.
“We’re trying to hold politicians accountable for their votes in the legislature and red flag law and other gun controls,” Brown said.
A poll conducted by the Associated Press said Americans overall support stricter gun laws, but proposals have stalled in Congress. In the past, the president threatened to veto two background check bills.
