The Red Flag legislation gives judges the ability to order the seizure of guns from people deemed a significant risk to themselves or others. It also requires that the individual be detained for 7 days in an involuntary mental health hold. Colorado is the 15th state to adopt such legislation.
The state's passage of a red flag law has sparked a resounding backlash.
Opponents have already filed a lawsuit attempting to overturn it. A number of the state's counties have declared themselves Second Amendment "sanctuaries" in an effort to thwart this gun grab legislation. Some sheriffs said that they would go to jail instead of enforcing the law.
The law allows family, household members and law enforcement to petition for a court order to temporarily take guns away from an individual deemed to be at significant risk of hurting themselves or others by having a firearm. The argument is the law infringes on both due process and the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable search and seizures.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have adopted red flag laws, otherwise known as extreme risk protection orders.
