ABQ Times

State Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque, hopes to further the discussion on changing proposed legislation on a state red-flag law.

Rehm said the legislation does not empower law enforcement to deal with people who pose credible threats.

“The different red-flag laws that come up are all challenged because of due process,” Rehm said in an interview with ABQ Times.

Rehm said that typically, attorneys in the Legislature always point to the importance of due process, but the proposed legislation for a red-flag law doesn’t allow due process.

“When you look at Vermont and California – the ACLU came out against both of their laws because of due process,” Rehm said. “The sheriffs are the ones that are yelling, ‘Hey, wait a minute; this is a due process issue.’

“Let’s assume you have a family relic that is a gun,” Rehm said. “This gun is non-functional. You have a family member that is delusional, and this family member goes down and files a petition with the court saying they think you’re going to kill them. You don’t even have bullets for this gun, and it doesn’t even work.”

Rehm said the police would still take the gun if the legislation became law.

“In essence, what they’re doing is taking a piece of property from you,” Rehm said. “It’s a non-functional gun. Now you have to go to court and prove that not only are you not mentally ill, but that you can safely have your property back. Where in America does that standard come from? Our standard is that you’re innocent until proven guilty, but now you’re proving to the court that you’re innocent. Those are the problems I have with this law.”

Rehm said he hasn’t seen a red-flag law yet that makes him say, “There we go. We solved it.”

“Fellow legislators have been talking about it, and we’re trying to figure it out,” Rehm said. “Usually you see whatever state has figured it out and model it after that one, but I haven’t found a state that has figured it out. That being said, it doesn’t mean I’m giving up.”

Rehm said a discussion is still taking place.

“I’m not an attorney, so I’m talking to friends who are attorneys and saying, ‘OK, how do we do this?’ You’ve got to think it through and get it right,” Rehm said.

Rehm said another issue he has with last year’s proposed legislation was the wording.

“The wording is that the judge shall sign this affidavit, but what happened to the Fourth Amendment? No search warrant will be issued without probable cause. And then the search warrant shall be immediately executed. The judge is to be available 24 hours a day and the search warrant shall be immediately executed.”