Mass. gun bill would expand ability to seek Extreme Risk Protection Orders

A new proposal on Beacon Hill would expand the number of people who can petition a judge to take someone’s gun away during a mental health crisis.

House Democrats filed “An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws”, a 140-page bill that promises to “stem the flow of illegal firearms into the Commonwealth and increase protections from gun violence for our communities.” The legislation would allow medical professionals, school administrators and employers to petition the court for an Extreme Risk Protection Order, also known as the “Red Flag Law.”

“That is really the final series of protections in place for individuals who are not well, who are experiencing mental [health] crises and really should not be given access or have access to firearms,” said Stoneham Democrat Rep. Michael Day, who presented the bill last month.

Under Massachusetts law, a family member or police department can petition to remove someone’s firearm if a judge feels there’s enough evidence to show the individual could cause harm to themselves or someone else. Day’s proposal would open that petition process up to licensed physicians, psychiatrists, mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, college and grade school administrators and employers.

“We believe the vast majority of these will continue to go through our chiefs of police, as they should. But in the rare circumstances where that isn’t enough, they’re now enabled to go in under the Due Process laws and seek a restrictive protective order,” Day said.

Ruth Zakarin, Executive Director with the Mass. Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, said the bill could prevent suicides, domestic violence and mass shootings.

“There’s a lot of research about the impact of ERPOs and the risk of harming someone else, that can look like lots of different things,” Zakarin said. “Certainly when we think about the prevention of mass shootings, one of the recommendations has been extreme risk protection orders.”

Gun rights advocates and second amendment groups have criticized the bill, saying it goes too far and over-complicates an already complicated system.

“The so-called ‘Red Flag Law’ is a blatant violation of the Constitution. Any citizen can make a complaint and before the accused can even respond, their rights and property are taken from them,” Gun Owners’ Action League Executive Director Jim Wallace said.

Day’s bill also rewrites licensing procedures, revamps regulations for training and selling firearms, and cracks down on so-called “ghost guns,” or untraceable firearms.

“We’re not trying to go after or criminalize proper license [holders], people who can responsibly carry a firearm,” Day said. “This is really intending to get at those that are evading our code of laws through the advancement of technology and criminal behavior.”

House Speak Ron Mariano said he supports the legislation. Day said the bill will be assigned to a committee and receive a public hearing before being debated by the Legislature.

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