Anti-red flag bill receives initial approval from Texas Senate

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas state senators give initial approval to a bill dubbed the 'anti-red flag law.'

It is something the bill's Republican author says would prevent local governments from removing guns from people without due process. The legislation is already getting pushback from the senator who represents Uvalde--- the site of the Robb elementary school mass shooting in 2022.

Red flag laws allow judges to take guns away from people found to pose a risk to themselves or others---for example-- in domestic violence cases. In fact--- back in 2018--- after the Sutherland Springs mass shooting that left twenty-six people dead -- Governor Greg Abbott included red flag laws as a possibility in his school safety plan – but they never gained traction.

The bill is Senate Bill 1362, introduced by state Senator Bryan Hughes. “This bill deals with our Second Amendment rights, well known to people here and across Texas and the country,” he said to fellow senators Wednesday.

If passed-- it would prevent local governments from passing their own red flag laws. “that’s the situation where your firearms, a person’s firearms, can be taken away from them without due process of law,” Hughes said.

Red flag laws are often used by judges to remove guns from suspects in domestic violence cases – they are also known as extreme risk protective orders. Democratic State Senator Roland Gutierrez represents Uvalde--- where almost three years ago-- an 18-year-old killed nineteen kids and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.

“He was called the school shooter prior to him killing all those kids and those two teachers. are you aware of that, that he was called a school shooter?” Gutierrez asked Hughes. “No, I was not,” he replied. “Kids for years had called him the school shooter because he had made threats. were you aware of that?” Gutierrez repeated. “No, I was not aware of that,” Hughes answered.

During a discussion of the bill on Wednesday-- Gutierrez challenged Hughes on the need for a ban on red flag laws – saying there are none in Texas. “He told people what he was going to do, what he was going to do and yet there's no law in this state, the kind of law that you're trying to curb that would have allowed that thin, that horrible event to be stopped, and yet here you are trying to pass a piece of legislation that says, not only is there no law, but we should never have one ever,” Gutierrez said.

The Texas senate voted along party lines to give SB 13-62 initial approval--- with 20 republicans voting yes and 11 democrats voting no. The bill still needs to be voted on one more time before it heads to the house.

It is important to note--- Hughes says SB 1362 does not apply to domestic violence orders of protection or cases that involve criminal charges. Research has shown that if an abuser has access to guns, the victim is five times more likely to be killed.