California will enact gun safety legislation next week that will allow police to seize weapons for 21 days if a judge determines the owner is a threat to themselves or others. Beginning Jan. 1, a restraining order could be issued by a judge without hearing from the person in question if there is reasonable evidence suggesting the individual is a threat based on accounts from family or police, reported the Washington Times.
“The law gives us a vehicle to cause the person to surrender their weapons, to have a time out, if you will,” said Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Michael Moore, according to NPR affiliate KPCC. “It allows further examination of the person’s mental state.”
California is considered to have some of the strictest gun laws in the country and already prohibits gun ownership from individuals if they have been convicted of a violent crime or were involuntarily committed to a mental health facility.
Under the new law, the individual can challenge the judge’s decision following a three-week period. “It’s a short duration and it allows for due process,” said Moore, who also noted that he didn’t anticipate the law being frequently used. “It’s an opportunity for mental health professionals to provide an analysis of a person’s mental state.”
The move comes as the Obama administration has been reaching out to state and local governments to take action against what the White House has frequently described as a gun violence epidemic in the absence of congressional action, reported USA Today earlier this month.
President Barack Obama, who has used public outrage over the San Bernardino shootings earlier this month to move forward on gun safety, is expected to unveil an executive order to place stricter federal regulations on purchasing guns in January.
“Congress should act to make sure no one on a no-fly list is able to buy a gun,” said Obama in an address from the Oval Office after the San Bernardino shooting, reported Vice News. “What could possibly be the argument for allowing a terrorist suspect to buy a semiautomatic weapon?”
