After thoroughly investigating the murder of Douglas County sheriff's Deputy Zackari Parrish, both Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock and 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler have called again for a law that would allow Colorado judges to take firearms away — at least temporarily — from those who are severely mentally ill.
The reports detailing law enforcement's interactions with Parrish's murderer in the weeks building up to a deadly shooting at a Douglas County apartment should help tip the scales for a bill that already has some support from brave Republicans willing to cross the NRA for reasonable[1], responsible gun legislation.
We were dismayed in May[2] when Republicans killed a red flag bill in a Senate committee that would have allowed the confiscation of firearms from those deemed a "significant risk" to themselves or others. Every Democrat in the House supported the bill which was sponsored by Assistant House Minority Leader Cole Wist, R-Centennial, and Assistant House Majority Leader Alec Garnett, D-Denver.
Republicans in the Senate will very likely have another chance in 2019 to do the right thing.
It's easy in the anguish and uncertainty following any murder to say unequivocally that we should have seen the signs and stepped in earlier.
The truth is it's impossible to tell who will turn violent.
But when the warning signs are there, our law enforcement, prosecutors and judges must have the tools necessary to intervene before tragedy strikes.
Generally red flag laws allow for prosecutors to ask a judge to order the confiscation of firearms from an individual. The complication is that often these unstable individuals have not committed a crime. There are ways to put enough safeguards in the legislation to protect civil liberties
