Trump mulling ‘red flag’ orders to remove guns from those found to be a risk: report

The White House is weighing a plan to use “red flag laws” to confiscate guns from people deemed too dangerous to possess them, according to a Bloomberg report. 

The laws — extreme risk protection orders — allow authorities to temporarily take firearms away from people that judges have determined to be a danger to themselves and others. Five states already have such laws in place. 

According to Bloomberg, the White House has been looking at an Indiana version of the law. 

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The Trump administration is considering a plan to encourage other states to enact the laws. One way the administration could do that is by tying federal grant money to the implementation of such laws as a reward.

The red flag laws are among several options reportedly being considered by the White House to curb gun violence. Trump and other politicians have faced pressure in recent days to enact new gun control measures after a deadly shooting at a South Florida high school.

That attack left 17 people dead and 14 others injured. The suspect, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. 

Trump voiced support for gun rights during his 2016 presidential campaign. But he signaled a possible shift on the issue this week, when he called for strengthening background checks for gun buyers and raising the minimum age for purchasing firearms from 18 to 21. The powerful National Rifle Association opposes changing age restrictions.

But he has also proposed arming trained teachers and doing away with gun-free zones around school campuses — proposals that many Democrats consider non-starters in the debate over gun control. 

White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told reporters at a press briefing on Friday that the administration was examining red flag laws. 

“I think some states have had these red flag laws, for example, that remove firearms after you go to a judge for potentially dangerous individuals,” he said. “That’s something that’s being done right now in a variety of states, right?”

“They have due process rights for these individuals. It seems to be working in certain areas. That’s something that we’re looking at and other places we’re looking at.”