VP Harris pushes states on 'red flag' gun laws
STORY: "Part of why I'm here today is to challenge every state, pass a red flag law. See how these leaders and these parents, through their advocacy borne out of tragedy, have changed some of the laws in this state,” Harris said at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, in front of some family members of the shooting victims, many holding photos of their lost loved ones.
So-called "red flag laws" allow courts to issue "extreme risk protection orders" to remove firearms from individuals considered at risk of harming themselves or others.
Harris called for 29 of the 50 states that have no "red flag" laws to pass them and encouraged 15 more states that have the laws to make use of available federal funds to implement them. She also announced a new National Resource Center to help local leaders take action on the law.
Florida approved a red flag law after the 2018 shooting but has not used the federal funding, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
President Joe Biden has made gun violence a key issue in his 2024 reelection bid and tapped Harris, a former prosecutor, to oversee the effort. Both have traveled across the country to meet with people whose families died in mass shootings.
