Arizona AG Kris Mayes to propose red flag law to protect schools from gun violence
Oct 26, 2023, 1:05 PM
A sign signals the public to shelter in place during an active shooter situation on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)
(Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)
PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes revealed Thursday that her office has been drawing up a potential red flag law to keep guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill and pose a danger to schools.
“We’ve been actually working on this for several months, but my office is going to propose legislation next year that would be a red flag law for Arizona targeted for schools,” Mayes told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show.
The law would allow a court to remove guns from an individual who poses an immediate danger to the safety of anyone at a K-12 school or university in the state, Mayes said.
“I just wanted to put that out there. It’s not something that I’ve talked about before, or not in that detail,” the Democrat said.
Mayes on Maine shooting: ‘We can’t continue to allow this to happen’
Mayes brought up the topic while discussing Wednesday night’s tragic mass shooting in Maine that left at least 18 people dead.
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The shooting suspect, Robert Card, was the subject of an intense manhunt Thursday. Card, a U.S. Army reservist, had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this past summer after “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” a military base.
“I think that’s something that’s been on all of our minds this morning, and all of New England is on lockdown because this killer is still in the wind. … I believe we can’t continue to allow this to happen and we can take action to keep AR-15s out of the hands mentally ill people, at a minimum,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
