Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is drafting legislation that would require the U.S. military to abide by state-level red and yellow flag laws for troops.
A red flag statute enables loved ones, friends, and other parties to ask a judge to take away a person’s firearms if they believe that person poses a risk to themselves or others. A yellow flag statute is more restrictive and permits law enforcement to get a court order to remove a firearm.
The attacks in Lewiston, Maine, on October 25, 2023, carried out by a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, prompted the Collins bill.
The attacker used a legally acquired sniper weapon.
Authorities in Maine did not act following the state’s yellow flag law in September, despite CNN’s warning that the gunman there could “snap and commit a mass shooting.”
Additionally, as Breitbart News reported on October 26, 2023, New York police took Card to a hospital in West Point for an evaluation in mid-July 2023.
After “acting erratically in mid-July” while participating in training at West Point, Card attracted the notice of military officials, according to the Associated Press. The card was brought to the Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point after New York police were contacted.
Red flag laws are in place in New York, and the police participation in the West Point incident sparked concerns about why the law was not applied.
On December 22, 2023, WMTW pointed out that Collins “is working on a bill that would require branches of the military to utilize state-level weapons restriction laws, when appropriate, if they believe a service member poses a threat of harm to themselves or others.”