Questions remain on new red flag gun law as Livingston County vows to not enforce it

LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - The latest piece of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s gun reform platform is now official - with her signature on a bill greenlighting so-called "red flag laws" also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders.

They allow cops, mental health professionals and worried family members to get a firearm taken away from a person believed to be a danger to themselves or others.

"We have heard too many times from those who knew a mass shooter who had expressed concern in advance about that mass shooter’s intentions," Whitmer said earlier today. "We’ve seen situations where local police flagged someone or even spoke to them about their violent statements but weren’t able to take any further course of action.

"With Extreme Risk Protection Orders we have a mechanism to step in and save lives."

But there are questions about the legality of the laws - with officials in places like Livingston County thumbing their noses at them.

Sheriff Mike Murphy said last month he would not enforce the red flag program, saying there is a violation of due process.

"If all the gun safety laws work so well, we wouldn’t have issues like Chicago," said Colleen Quinn. "So, we are standing by our commissioners and our sheriff, we are very proud of them."

Quinn attended Monday night’s meeting of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners. It is a body that recently declared itself a "Constitutional County" meaning they will not back any laws that violate the Second Amendment in their view.

"So I feel our commissioners did a great job, our sheriff, we are behind him 100 percent," Quinn said. "And these laws aren’t going to move the needle."

Governor Whitmer was asked about local authorities who refuse to enforce the Extreme Risk Protection Orders.

"I think that every prosecutor takes his oath to uphold the laws of the State of Michigan," she said. "And that’s the expectation."

Here's how the red-flag laws would work:

A judge will have 24 hours to decide on a protection order once it is filed. If granted, the judge would have 14 days to set a hearing which would then give the red-flagged person a chance to prove why they are not a risk to themselves or others.

Another layer to the enforcement element is, Attorney General Dana Nessel has said if the local law enforcement chooses to not follow through on a red-flag order, she will find someone with the jurisidiction who will.