livingston
20×102mm Vulcan
'Red flag’ law aims to keep people with violent instincts, mental disorders from accessing weapons.
Police have found that it's not unusual for one gun owner to have dozens of weapons
Once, this would have seemed unlikely in the “Gunshine State,” known for lawmakers in lockstep with the National Rifle Association. But since Florida enacted its “red flag” law in March 2018, thousands of guns - handguns, shotguns, hunting rifles and the kind of semi-automatic weapons used in mass shootings across America - have been given up or taken by authorities.
The tipping point: Seventeen dead at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.
The law was signed weeks later. Since then, through August 2019, 2,654 people in Florida have been ordered to turn over their guns and ammunition and banned from having any more for up to a year. No one appears to be keeping statewide count of how many guns have been collected.
The number of weapons per person varies. “It’s either one or a ton,” says Mike Schmid, attorney for the Tampa Police Department. A Pinellas man turned in 57. A gun owner in Hillsborough had 85.
This “risk protection” process plays out in civil court hearings, where Florida judges are left to decide whether there’s “clear and convincing evidence” of danger. On average, five times a day, the answer is yes.
www.tampabay.com
Police have found that it's not unusual for one gun owner to have dozens of weapons
Once, this would have seemed unlikely in the “Gunshine State,” known for lawmakers in lockstep with the National Rifle Association. But since Florida enacted its “red flag” law in March 2018, thousands of guns - handguns, shotguns, hunting rifles and the kind of semi-automatic weapons used in mass shootings across America - have been given up or taken by authorities.
The tipping point: Seventeen dead at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.
The law was signed weeks later. Since then, through August 2019, 2,654 people in Florida have been ordered to turn over their guns and ammunition and banned from having any more for up to a year. No one appears to be keeping statewide count of how many guns have been collected.
The number of weapons per person varies. “It’s either one or a ton,” says Mike Schmid, attorney for the Tampa Police Department. A Pinellas man turned in 57. A gun owner in Hillsborough had 85.
This “risk protection” process plays out in civil court hearings, where Florida judges are left to decide whether there’s “clear and convincing evidence” of danger. On average, five times a day, the answer is yes.
Dangerous but disarmed: How Florida has confiscated thousands of guns
'Red flag’ law aims to keep people with violent instincts, mental disorders from accessing weapons.
www.tampabay.com
