Whitmer signs red flag law allowing temporary removal of guns from those deemed dangerous

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law a series of bills Monday that will allow law enforcement, family, health care providers and others to petition courts to temporarily remove guns from those a judge determines pose an imminent threat to themselves or others.

With Whitmer's signature on Senate Bill 83, Michigan joins a list of more than a dozen states with so-called "red flag" laws, also sometimes called "extreme risk protection orders," in place. The legislation won't go into effect immediately because it did not garner any Republican support in the state Legislature. Instead, the law is slated to take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session.

Whitmer said the legislation would help curb gun violence, including firearm suicides and mass shootings.

"We must act because week after week in America we see grim, familiar headlines," she said at a bill signing ceremony flanked by gun safety advocates including former Congresswoman and gun violence survivor Gabby Giffords. "The shooters from Oxford and MSU both showed concerning behavior beforehand."

Many perpetrators of gun violence show "warning signs," Whitmer said, and now law enforcement and courts have a tool to intervene, she added.

More:Whitmer expands background checks, enacts safe storage with gun safety bills

More:Livingston Co. sheriff vows not to enforce Michigan's proposed red flag laws

Bill sponsor state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said the red flag law will help prevent future tragedies involving guns. "These laws, more than anything else, will buy time. Time to prevent the worst-case scenario. Time to save lives," she said.

Democrats' red flag bills passed along party lines. During the debate over the bills, GOP lawmakers argued the legislation would not have stopped the shooting at Michigan State University's campus earlier this year that left three dead and five injured.

The shooting prompted Democrats to reintroduce gun safety proposals that stalled in the previous GOP-led Legislature. Some suggested that they might have prevented the rampage on MSU's campus.

"This shooter at MSU was waving red flags all over the place," said state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, during a floor speech.

At least one law enforcement official — Livingston County Sheriff Michael Murphy — has vowed not to enforce the new red flag law. But the Michigan State Police, which has jurisdiction throughout the state, could enforce the proposed red flag law, according to the state attorney general's office. An MSP spokesperson declined to comment on whether it would do so if a local law enforcement agency refused, calling it a hypothetical scenario.

At the bill signing event, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel reiterated that she will work hard to find law enforcement officers who will comply with the red flag law if local authorities refuse to do so.

As part of the red flag package, Whitmer also signed House Bills 4146, 4147 and 4148 which prohibit those subject to extreme risk protection orders from purchasing firearms, waive court fees for those seeking such an order and make it a crime to lie on the petition to temporarily take away someone else's firearms.

With bill signings Monday, lawmakers have now sent Whitmer the three proposals aimed at curbing gun violence that the governor asked for at the start of the year: universal background checks, red flag laws and safe storage requirements for firearms. Whitmer did not specify what additional proposals she would like to see passed.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.