Lupe Valdez backs 'red flag' law to take guns out of dangerous hands

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff, said Friday she supports changing state law to allow for “red flag” protective orders, in which a judge can temporarily take guns away from individuals deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others.

In unveiling his strategy for reducing gun violence in schools on Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick “to issue an interim charge to consider the merits of adopting a red flag law allowing law enforcement, a family member, school employee or a district attorney to file a petition seeking the removal of firearms from a dangerous person only after legal due process is provided.”

“We should implement, not simply study, extreme risk protection order laws, or `Red Flag’ laws,” Valdez wrote in an opinion article Friday on the Houston Chronicle’s website. “Law enforcement and families should be able to flag someone who may pose an immediate danger to themselves or others. While maintaining due process, their access to firearms should be temporarily limited.”

After Abbott, who is seeking a second term, issued his school and firearm safety plan Wednesday, Straus charged the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence to consider the merits of a red flag law. The committee is chaired by state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, who tweeted Thursday: “Lethal violence protective orders could potentially prevent suicides and mass shootings. The #txlege can save lives by enacting a ‘red flag’ law. Our committee will get to work to build consensus before next session.”

Read more: https://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/lupe-valdez-backs-red-flag-law-take-guns-out-dangerous-hands/df3ebJIOkMby48jyRA5ybL/