Politics
Texas Bill Would Require Gun Owners to Surrender Firearms Within 24 Hours Under Red Flag Orders
A proposed Texas law would give gun owners just 24 hours to turn over their firearms after a red flag order, a significant tightening of the state's existing extreme risk protection law.
AUSTIN â Texas lawmakers are considering legislation that would require gun owners subject to a red flag order to surrender their firearms within 24 hours, a sharp departure from current state law that allows longer compliance windows and leaves enforcement largely to local authorities.
The bill, filed ahead of the current legislative session, targets individuals deemed by a court to pose an imminent risk to themselves or others. Under existing Texas law, extreme risk protection orders allow law enforcement to petition a judge to temporarily remove firearms from someone in crisis, but the timeline for surrender and the mechanisms for enforcement vary by jurisdiction and can stretch for days.
Supporters argue the 24-hour requirement closes a dangerous gap. "When a judge signs an order, the risk is immediate," said one advocate familiar with the proposal, speaking on condition of anonymity because the bill is still being drafted. "A week-long delay can be the difference between intervention and tragedy."
The proposal is likely to face fierce opposition from gun rights groups and some rural lawmakers who have long resisted tightening firearm restrictions in Texas, even as the state has expanded gun access in recent years. Texas allows permitless carry and has resisted federal red flag measures, though it established its own extreme risk protection framework following mass shootings in El Paso and Uvalde.
Details on how the 24-hour surrender would be enforced â including whether law enforcement would be required to retrieve weapons or whether owners would self-report â were not immediately clear. The bill's sponsor did not respond to requests for comment.
For local communities, the measure could reshape how police and courts handle domestic violence cases, mental health crises, and threats of mass violence. County sheriffs and municipal police departments would bear the logistical burden of rapid compliance checks, and courts would need to streamline order processing to meet the new deadline.
Gun safety advocates say the change is overdue, pointing to research showing that access to firearms during a crisis significantly increases the risk of suicide and homicide. Opponents counter that the bill could infringe on due process rights and create confusion for lawful gun owners who may not immediately know an order has been issued against them.
The bill is expected to be assigned to committee in the coming weeks, where it will face its first test. Similar proposals in previous sessions have stalled amid opposition from Republican leadership, but shifting public opinion after recent shootings could change the calculus.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.