red flag laws

Gun safety advocates rallied in the state Capitol on Thursday in an attempt to put pressure on the Republican-led legislature to pass gun control measures.

The event held by Moms Demand Action comes weeks after armed gun rights advocates rallied in the state Capitol to protest proposals like a “red flag” law.

Such measures allow courts to temporarily take guns away from people determined to be a danger to themselves or others.

Anita Franklin is a gun control advocate from Lexington whose son was shot in 2014 while playing basketball. She said Kentuckians need to elect officials who will support common sense gun laws.

Kentucky lawmakers will consider whether to adopt a “red flag” law during next year’s legislative session. The bipartisan measure would allow courts to temporarily take guns away from people deemed to be dangerous by law enforcement or family members.

Shelbyville Republican Sen. Paul Hornback is one of the bill’s sponsors. He says that he supports gun rights but that new restrictions must be created because “society has changed.”

“We’ve got to start this conversation, we need to stop saying no and we need to look at what can be done, what are the little things we can do,” Hornback told the legislature’s Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary on Friday.