1) Due Process and 2nd Amendment Concerns – Require a show cause hearing in advance of any forfeiture or seizure of firearms. This language is not included in the current legislation, and we believe this could address due process and 2nd Amendment concerns. 2) Storage - Require the MSP to serve as a location to maintain and store seized firearms. a. Alternative Proposal - Storage of Seized Weapons – Create a process for a local FFL to become an approved storage location, including a fee schedule. If the firearms are not returned to the individual, allow the FFL to legally acquire the firearms. Small police agencies, particularly in rural communities, do not have the facilities and staff to hold and store seized firearms. In some communities, local police departments are not even staffed 24 hr/7 days a week. We believe very strongly that this administrative hurdle must be addressed for an effective policy outcome.
3) Hold Harmless – Police departments that are responsible for following a court order that requires them to seize firearms should be held harmless for incidents for which officers made a good-faith effort to locate and seize all firearms. The MACP believes strongly that language should be clearly added to the legislation. Further, the bill holds the law enforcement agency responsible for putting the order into LEIN. In some counties, this is done by the courts. We offer the following suggested language to Section 15: “The local entering authority”
4) Penalties – Currently, the bill imposes a 93-day misdemeanor on individuals that fail to adhere to the court order requiring the relinquishment of firearms. We believe due to the nature of the Extreme Risk Protection Order and the potential consequences of collateral exposure to community safety for not adhering to the order, the penalties should be increased to a 4-year felony for the first violation and higher penalties for subsequent offenses.
An individual who knowingly provides a firearm to a restrained individual should be guilty of a 4-year felony first offense and higher penalties for subsequent offenses.