LANSING — Michigan lawmakers this week may approve a series of gun reform measures, including the so-called “red flag” law to allow judges to authorize the temporary seizure of guns from those deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
Nineteen states and Washington, D.C. have similar laws, many passed in the past five years. The laws are rarely enforced and enforcement varies from state to state and county to county, Bridge Michigan found reviewing research and through interviews with lawmakers, sheriffs and judges.
Even supporters who say the laws can prevent tragedies acknowledge their effectiveness is hard to measure.
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“If a crime doesn’t occur, how do you quantify that?” said Jack Tuter, chief judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida. The state adopted the red flag law in 2018 after a teen gunman killed 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the city of Parkland the same year.
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