Mon, 27 Jun 22 10:00:44 +0000

Some sheriffs who have criticized the Locomotive Act are trying to use them

(KHN)Dolores County Sheriff Don Wilson will use Colorado's Locomotive Act when passed in 2019 I never expected that. The law has made it too easy to steal a person's gun.

Law allows law enforcement officers or civilians to petition county courts to temporarily confiscate firearms from those who pose an imminent threat to themselves or others. increase.

"It's just a word for one person to another," said Wilson, whose less populated area is in southwestern Colorado near the Utah border.

Then, in August 2020, a Dove Creek man who threatened to kill his neighbor and himself pointed a semi-automatic rifle at his lieutenant. Sheriffs said his distrust of the Locomotive Act had not changed, but Wilson petitioned to remove the man's weapons and was given an extreme risk protection order.

"If a gentleman brings a rifle to my agent and threatens to shoot and kill my courthouse, kill a judge, and kill a district attorney, I have a gun for that person. There is a problem with what they are doing. ”

The school gun shooting incident in Yuvalde, Texas, prompted a bipartisangun control agreementin parliament, and more states. Was able to provide funding to encourage the passage of the Red Flag Act. However, in response to conservative opposition, the bill passed by Congress included funding for crisis intervention to state whether they would establish a danger signal law.

Similar opposition was seen in Colorado, where Dolores County and at least 36 other counties declared it a "second amendment sanctuary" after the Locomotive Act was introduced.

But two and a half years later, these declarations seemed to have little effect on whether a legal protection order was submitted or enforced. According to a KHN analysis of petitions obtained through county-by-county public record requests, petitions for protection orders were submitted in 20 of 37 sanctuary counties, often by very sheriffs who had previously condemned the law. I did.

"These are sheriffs and law enforcement agencies who originally said they didn't want anything to do with this law," said Johns Hopkins Gun Center State Adviser {28. } Resagersaid. Violence solution. "But in reality, they are using it and this is not unique to Colorado. Law enforcement agencies said," Hey, this is the best tool we need to protect ourselves. I noticed. Washington, D.C., Colorado, 19 states

19 states have enforced some form of danger signal law, but according to the website SanctuaryCounties.com, more than 62% of US counties are now states or counties. Is subject to the Second Amended Sanctuary Resolution of.

Research shows that the Danger Signaling Act saves lives. Researchers at Duke Universityfound inthat every 10 guns removed would prevent one death. University of Indianapolis analysisfound a similar reduction in suicide rates after the Locomotive Acts were passed in Connecticut and Indiana.

Another analysiswas by a researcher at the Colorado Public Health School Injury&Center for Violence Prevention, by a judge in the first year of the Locomotive Act of Colorado. The protection order granted was submitted by law enforcement agencies.

"Most of this is because law enforcement petitions may have been more complete," said epidemiologist and deputy director of the centerDr. Marianne Betts. I am. "They had the information the judge needed to get it going."

California,Oregon, andWashington. Investigations atalso found that most of the petitions were filed by law enforcement agencies. The California Danger Signals Act has been in force for over five years, but two-thirds of Californians in the 2020 surveyhad never heard of it.

Betts and her team found the same hurdle in Colorado. "I hope there will be some improvement in awareness and education for both the general public and law enforcement agencies," she said. Do it. "

In Colorado counties where Sheriffs refused to use the Red Flag Act, other law enforcement agencies have issued protection orders. Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams has issued the law. One of the most criticized,National Newsstates that he wants to go to jail rather than force him into jail, including two by the city police. Twelve petition was filed in Weld County.

"My stance is still the same," Reams said. "Under no circumstances, I intend to violate constitutional rights and bring someone's gun."

Reams described the law as "shallow" and was the cause of violence. I'm not doing anything to deal with potential mental problems.

The process by which citizens file a petition for extreme risk protection orders can be difficult. Many of the reviews by KHN, including one petition submitted, showed that the submitter did not understand the Hazard Signals Act.

Other petitions filed by citizens were clearly outside the scope of the law's intent.

County prison prisoners have filed petitions against sheriff prisons, including those who have accused slave sheriffs. .. A woman in Larimer County,, falsely claimed to have a child in common with a police officer to steal agun.

However, the judge rejected all of these petitions and upheld the claims of her supporters. Protection against misuse is built into the law.

"We have caused a few rare cases of misusing the law, but those petitions were not granted," said Colorado epidemiologist Betts. "This shows that the system worked."

In the debate over the Colorado bill, opponents said that the law would steal guns from others without good reason. Insisted on admitting.

"We haven't really seen it," said Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pele. "What we see is that law enforcement agencies have tools to use when someone is really dangerous to themselves or others and shouldn't have a firearm."

Even before Colorado law was passed in 2019, the County Commission of Alamosa County passed theSecond Amended Sanctuary Resolutionto step up the county's commitment to arms ownership. Did. Sheriff Robert Jackson then issued a statement in support of the resolution, stating that the Red Flag bill lacked due process, did not address mental health concerns, and would put his agent at higher risk. Stated.

Since then, judges in Alamosa County have granted two petitions under the law. One from the County Sheriff's Office and the other from the Alamosa Police Station.

Jackson said his concern was the ability of civilians to apply for protection orders. He said law enforcement would only submit the file after investigating the facts.

"Judges aren't really good at investigating things from time to time," he said.

Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock, one of Colorado's most outspoken supporters of law, said his office submitted four protection orders in the first year of the law. ..

"Most of the time, some people are facing an extreme mental health crisis, but unfortunately there are consequences of suicide or murder," he said. "The four cases we have done, all four of them are alive today, are productive members of our society, and are working towards a healthier life."

Spurlock said many sheriffs still refuse to use life-saving laws. He said he asked some of them the questions pointed out about what it means to be a sanctuary of the second amendment, such as whether armed robbers and rapists are eligible for guns. Stated.

"Then they get angry with me," Spurlock said. "The number of my friends is decreasing."