Maine lawmakers consider last-second ‘red flag’ proposal [Video]

Maine lawmakers racing toward adjournment for the current legislative session are going to consider a so-called “red flag” law allowing family members to petition a judge for temporary removal of guns, thanks to an eleventh-hour bill introduced by the house leader.House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, a Democrat, said it’s important to reconsider the previously rejected proposal after a gunman killed 18 people last fall amid signs of deteriorating mental health. A competing bill by Gov. Janet Mills would strengthen the state’s existing crisis intervention tool, a so-called “yellow flag” law.The new proposal, introduced three weeks before lawmakers adjourn, would allow family members to go directly to a judge to request that someone’s guns be removed during a psychiatric crisis.The bill was referred to committee on Thursday after efforts to table it failed.The state’s current law requires police to start the process by taking someone into protective custody, initiating a case …