As a national debate rages over gun laws after last month’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, proponents of “red-flag” policies point to a Florida law as a model for states seeking to strip deadly weapons from people who could cause harm.
The Florida law, which allows authorities to take guns from people found to pose a “significant danger” to themselves or others, has drawn pushback from Second Amendment advocates and some law-enforcement officials.
But supporters say the law —- used thousands of times since the Republican-controlled Legislature approved it in 2018 —- has saved an untold number of lives.
“There’s no question that it has prevented harm. No doubt in my mind,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told The News Service of Florida.
The measure allows law-enforcement officials to seek “risk-protection” orders from judges, who must consider a number of factors —- such as recent acts of violence or threats of violence —- before granting the requests. The orders can last up to 12 months, and officials are permitted to seek a single extension of up to another year.
Lawmakers included the red-flag measure in a sweeping school-safety law passed after a 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that killed 14 students and three faculty members.
In Pinellas County, Gualtieri has a special unit dedicated to processing risk-protection order requests for the sheriff’s office and municipal police departments. Pinellas has had about...
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