Rep. Brooks urges national passage of red flag laws

Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) is urging national passage red flag laws, which will allow state law enforcement to seize weapons from individuals perceived as a danger to themselves or others.

Brooks said the effort is in the wake of the latest round of mass shootings across the country. She noted that Indiana is one of 17 states that currently have a red flag law – adopted in 2005 and named after slain police officer Jake Laird.

The measure Brooks has introduced on the federal level would provide grants to encourage states to adopt similar laws. The bill also requires both due process and probable cause, enabling local law enforcement to remove and retain firearms from individuals who are determined to be a danger to themselves or others. A court has to approve the return of the weapon.

“It is a state issue,” Brooks said. “The grant program would allow states to adopt the red flag law and train law enforcement officers and prosecutors about another tool to use.”

Brooks said the Jake Laird Law has worked since it was passed by the state legislature, detailing how Indiana Metropolitan Police Officer (IMPD) Officer Jake Laird was shot and killed on the job while responding to an incident in which a mentally ill man had shot someone with a rifle. Kenneth Anderson shot Laird in the chest.

“I introduced the Jake Laird law in the last Congress with Rep. Ted Deutch, who represents Parkland, Florida,” Brooks told WISH-TV, an Indianapolis news station. “We’ve reintroduced it this year. It’s my hope that the country and Congress are able to come together and pass some version of a red flag law.”