Davis Pushes ‘Red-Flag’ Laws After Mass Shootings

After mass shootings in Texas and Ohio last weekend, Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis said he’ll back so-called red-flag laws.

They would allow courts to order an individual’s firearms taken away if he’s deemed a threat to himself or others. Police officers, counselors or relatives would be able to request the order.

Illinois already passed a similar law last year, the Firearms Restraining Order Act, which allows police and relatives to ask courts to take away someone’s guns.

Davis, a Republican who represents parts of central Illinois and the Metro East, said the proposal he supports is modeled after a similar program in Indiana.

“This bill could feasibly help us avoid mass shootings in the future,” he said Wednesday after an unrelated event in Springfield.

Support for these laws among Republicans has been growing.

Meanwhile, Democrats say they’re not enough. They’re pushing for stricter background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines.

But Davis said the red-flag rules are the only ones with significant bipartisan backing. “Unfortunately, folks only want to focus on the firearms side of the equation,” he said. “They don’t want to focus on some other solutions that we want to put in place or some of the solutions we have.”

Fellow Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzger on Monday wrote he would support a ban on high-capacity magazines, like the one carried by the shooter in Dayton.