LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A bipartisan bill to remove guns from Kentuckians deemed a risk to themselves and others is getting some pushback ahead of a highly anticipated committee hearing in Frankfort on Friday.
State Rep. Savannah Maddox says any measure to remove guns from the possession of citizens, even those in mental health crisis, is a nonstarter.
"Whether you call it a red flag [law] or any RPO (Risk Protection Orders), at a bare minimum it has the potential to violate at least three constitutional rights," she said, referencing the 2nd, 4th and 14th Amendment.
CARR stands for Crisis Aversion and Rights Retention. The bill, championed by a Republican and co-sponsored by a Democrat, would allow law enforcement to temporarily remove guns from the hands of citizens ruled to be mentally ill and a threat to themselves or others.
But it wouldn't happen without a court order, a lengthy legal process overseen by a judge, and the person themselves getting a chance to make their case for keeping the weapon.
But concerns over infringing upon the right to bear arms and due process loom large, says Maddox -- a staunch conservative and former candidate for governor who's at times distanced herself from others in the Kentucky GOP, including her stance on any concept of gun safety legislation.
"I think it's unconscionable that with a supermajority of 111 [Republicans] out of 138 [state legislators] that we're even having a discussion about gun control legislation," Maddox told WHAS11 on Monday.
On Friday, different versions of the CARR bill, sponsored by State Sen. Whitney Westerfield, will be discussed among the Interim Joint Judiciary Committee on Friday. It's made up of 30 lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Westerfield and Maddox.
"It's my hope that every legislator draws on whatever inspiration that they need to draw on to keep an open mind," Westerfield told WHAS11 previously on Nov. 27.
Supporters have called CARR common ground among political parties, viewed by some as a way to prevent mass shootings and suicides while also retaining due process rights that opponents fear some 'Red Flag' laws don't adequately guarantee.
State Sen. David Yates (D), who represents part of Jefferson County, says the committee hearing will be just as much about education as it is convincing skeptics of the bill's value. He's a co-sponsor of the CARR bill.
"My fear right now is there's a lot of misinformation out there," Yates said. "There are some misconceptions that this is some kind of gun-grabbing legislation as opposed to [being] about mental health crisis. This is about making sure the gun owner is protected, [too]. It's damn time we have an open, honest discussion in committee so people can hear about it because what we're doing, which is nothing, is not going to work."
Yates admits the bill is likely to see significant pushback from some factions of the General Assembly, but whether Maddox's views will be echoed by other lawmakers in the committee hearing Friday is to be seen.
"Rendering innocent, law-abiding citizens defenseless is not the answer," Maddox said.
Westerfield has told us a couple different versions of his CARR bill will be discussed in the hearing. He hinted that one has received more favorable feedback to this point than the other.
Also on Friday, Republican state lawmakers from Louisville are set to introduce the Safer Kentucky Act. It's a multi-part proposal of policies to tackle the city's violence.
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