Access to guns could be restricted from someone going through a personal crisis. It comes after a series of mass shootings where advocates say warning signs were missed. State representatives advanced the legislation Wednesday.
It's not a lifetime ban. Rather, Rep. Kathleen Willis, a Democrat from Addison, stresses she wants to temporarily keep guns away from someone suffering a mental breakdown, contemplating suicide, or otherwise going through a rough patch.
A concerned close friend or relative could ask a circuit court to prevent them from buying, or possessing a gun.
"We're trying to be as open to protecting people's second right amendments, but also protecting people from themselves and other family members," she said.
But the National Rifle Association's Todd Vandermyde says "this here just seems like a recipe for disaster in how to abuse a fundamental, constitutional right."
He says the proposal flips the judicial system on its head, by forcing a legal gun-owner to have to prove his innocence.
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