Among the school safety proposals unveiled today by Gov. Greg Abbott is a so called ‘Red Flag Law’ proposal, which would allow police, family members, a school employee, or a district attorney, to ask a judge to order guns removed from an individual they consider to be a danger, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
“Such a proposal could only be allowed once all due process has been provided,” Abbott said.
Red Flag Laws are not popular among Second Amendment groups, who see them as the first step toward general gun confiscation.
Abbott says he will ask Texas Senate and House leaders to issue an interim charge to lawmakers to consider the merits of Red Flag Laws, and potentially introduce a bill in the 2019 session.
The governor’s other proposals, which follow this month’s shooting at Santa Fe High School and a series of three ‘Round Table Discussions’ which were designed to seek input into school safety proposals, include:
-Deploying Crisis Response Counselors to meet the immediate needs of troubled students.
-Assisting Texas Health and Human Services Commission efforts to provide a long-term ‘behavioral health response’ program.
-Ensuring first responders have mental health resources.
-Adding more school marshals to school campuses.
-Providing active shooter and emergency response training, coordinated by the Texas School Safety Center.
-Harden school campuses to prevent security threats.
-Increase Mental Health Training.
-Expand school ‘Crime Stoppers’ programs.
-Monitor social media for threats.
-Increase the safety of charter schools.
-Remove from the classroom students who threaten someone, in a ‘zero tolerance’ policy.
Abbott is also proposing stepped up background checks for gun purchases, consider a ‘protective order law’ to keep guns out of the hands of people who are ‘mentally unfit to bear arms.’
Mandate a 48 hour reporting period to close gaps in federally mandated background checks.
Toughen the existing Safe Firearm Storage practices, and make mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms.