ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In the wake of last month’s mass shooting in Maine, New Mexico’s Attorney General is now offering Red Flag training to law enforcement agencies across the state.
While Red Flag Laws have been on the books in New Mexico for years, they have not been used very often.
Red Flag Laws allow concerned friends and family members to alert law enforcement that someone with access to a gun may be a danger to themselves or others.
The Attorney General’s Office is now offering a refresher course for law enforcement officers that will walk them through the process of using Red Flag Laws.
While the training is not mandatory, the Attorney General hopes that all departments in the state will participate in some way. Whether it’s in person or through a video training the AG’s office is putting together.
“We go through hypothetical situations about people in different jurisdictions and how that works, where the venue is properly established, which court to file in,” says New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez.
But Torrez also wants everyday people to know that our Red Flag Laws are in place to protect them, and if they have concerns about a friend or family member who might hurt themselves or others with a gun, they should feel comfortable going to law enforcement to see if they can get that gun temporarily removed.
“We have an existing framework that balances the Second Amendment rights of every citizen in the country to keep and bear arms, but also recognises that we have important tools to remove guns from people who are dangerous or suffering from mental disorders. And that it is a balanced and targeted, focused approach that we believe will help reduce the chances of mass casualties or mass shootings,” Torrez said.
Torrez adds that our Red Flag laws aren’t perfect. He would like to see some changes to the law, including removing the 48-hour grace period, clarifying who can be a red flag reporter, and adding protections for those who raise red flag concerns.