California and New Jersey Are Considering Gun Seizure Laws

By Kristina Bravo, Takepart.com

08 July 14

un violence continues to make headlines since the recent mass killing at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Now lawmakers in California and New Jersey are considering regulations similar to a Connecticut law that allows for the temporary seizure of guns when there’s evidence that a person could be a danger to themselves or to others.

Michael Lawlor, the undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning in Connecticut, told the AP that if police knew about Adam Lanza’s mental health history, such a law could have prevented the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.

“That’s the kind of situation where you see the red flags and the warning signs are there, and you do something about it,” said Lawlor. “In many shootings around the country, after the fact it’s clear that the warning signs were there.”

Connecticut passed the gun seizure law in 1999 after a worker with a history of psychiatric problems killed four other employees at the state’s lottery headquarters in 1998. It mandates that a court can temporarily confiscate guns if police can provide proof that a person poses a potential threat. (Without a permit, handgun possession in the state is punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both.) A judge must hold a hearing within two weeks to decide whether to return the weapons or permit the state to hold them for up to one year. In 2009, Connecticut took away more than 2,000 guns. Indiana is the only other state with a similar regulation.

Gun proponents argue that seizure laws infringe upon constitutional rights, and that authorities abuse them. Their effectiveness is debated as well. In the United States, roughly 90 people die from gun violence every day; two out of three are suicides. According to a state-by-state ranking by the Violence Policy Center, Connecticut had the fifth-lowest firearm-death rate in 2011, while Indiana had the 18th lowest rate.