Dana Bash presses GOP lawmaker on gun safety solutions

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) explains why Republicans have had issues with past gun safety legislation introduced by Democrats as CNN's Dana Bash presses him on alternative solutions.

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Indiana's 'red flag' law should have prevented the FedEx shooting. Here's what else you should know about these laws

By Leah Asmelash, CNN

After 19-year-old Brandon Hole killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis last week, questions arose about the state's "red flag" law, which should have prevented Hole from having a gun in the first place.

"Red flag" laws, found in more than a dozen states across the US, are also known as Extreme Risk Protection Order laws -- and they allow courts to temporarily seize firearms from anyone believed to be a danger to themselves or others.

In Hole's case, his mother told law enforcement in March 2020 that her son told her he would attempt "suicide by cop." At the time, officials took a shotgun found at his home into custody, Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said Monday. And yet, later that year, Hole was able to legally purchase assault rifles.

The situation shows the limits of Indiana's "red flag" law, Mears said. In Indiana, after the state has seized the firearm, it has 14 days to file a petition requesting the person be designated as having a violent propensity or mental instability. But because the gun from Hole's home had been secured and the family didn't want it back, the prosecutors at the time felt they "achieved" the objective of the law, Mears said. If the state had filed a petition, the court might have determined prosecutors didn't have the legal authority to keep the weapon, Mears said.

Thus, no petition was filed. And four months later, Hole was able to purchase an assault rifle that he later used in the FedEx attack.

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Have states with red flag laws 'seen a reduction in the number of suicides'?

Biden touted so-called red flag laws, also known as Extreme Risk Protection Order laws, which allow people to ask a court to temporarily remove guns from people believed to be a danger to themselves or others. He said that states with red flag laws have "seen a reduction in the number of suicides in their states."