Senator Susan Collins is developing legislation to compel the U.S. military to follow state-level red and yellow flag laws for service members.
The proposed law is a response to the 2023 attacks in Lewiston, Maine, carried out by a U.S. Army Reserve member.
The bill aims to ensure that military branches use state-level weapons restriction laws when they believe a service member poses a threat to themselves or others.
The legislation is intended to address instances where existing red and yellow flag laws were not utilized despite concerns about a service member’s behavior.
According to CNN, law enforcement was notified that the Maine shooter could “snap and commit a mass shooting” but they did not activate the yellow flag process.
According to WMTW, Sen. Collins “is working on a bill that would require branches of the military to utilize state-level weapons restriction laws, when appropriate, if they believe a service member poses a threat of harm to themselves or others.”
