California's first-in-the-nation gun restraining order legislation was born out of a college-town rampage that left six people dead at the hands of a killer whose family felt helpless to stop him.
Advocates say its greatest use actually might come not in preventing headline-grabbing murderous sprees, but in helping families deal with loved ones who are in danger of taking their own lives or who might be so angry or distraught that they could turn a gun on family members.
Victims of domestic violence in California already can file for restraining orders that can include the removal of firearms.
Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a law that will make California the first state that lets family members ask a judge to temporarily remove firearms from a relative who appears to pose a threat. It will also let law enforcement authorities go directly to a judge to seize guns from people they deem to be a danger, as they already can in Connecticut, Indiana and Texas.
"There are many situations where family members or law enforcement feel that the person does have a degree of dangerousness or that they pose a risk to themselves or others by possessing a firearm," said Amanda Wilcox, an advocate for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, whose daughter was a victim of gun violence. "This is really a way to reduce the number of suicides when a family member can initiate this."
[For more of this story, written by Don Thompson, go to http://www.star-telegram.com/2...l?rh=1#storylink=cpy]
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