When it rains, it pours.
Bill allowing taking guns from unstable people may get hearing in Lansing
By Kathleen Gray
Detroit Free Press
February 20th. 2018
Michigan legislators may start the Second Amendment debate by looking at bills that would keep weapons out of the hands of people with mental health problems.At least 48 bills have been introduced to either expand or restrict access to guns and other weapons since the beginning of 2017. While most of the bills are stuck in legislative committees, unable to get a vote, two that deal specifically with removing guns from people who have mental health issues may take precedence over bills that will expand access to guns.
“With everything that’s going on now, this is a tool that could have helped in Florida,” state Rep. Robert Wittenberg, D-Oak Park, said of his “extreme risk protection” bill.
The measure would allow family members or law enforcement officials to petition a judge to get weapons temporarily removed from a person who presents a dangerous threat to themselves or others.
Five states – California, Oregon, Connecticut, Washington and Indiana – have such bills, also referred to as "red flag" legislation, and another dozen states are considering similar proposals.