RED FLAG

makers pass the new legislation.

Erik Stone, a commissioner in conservative Teller County, said that teachers aren’t ready to take on the burden of considering red ag petitions.

“It extends responsibilities to people who already have enough on their plate,” he said.

e American Federation of Teachers’ Colorado branch is supporting the bill. e state’s largest teacher’s union, the Colorado Education Association, has not led to lobby on the bill.

Leanne Rupp, executive director of the Colorado chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, acknowledged concerns about protecting client con dentiality, but said her organization supports the proposal, arguing it could save the lives of clients and others.

“ ere are times when we as providers may be able to prevent a catastrophic event from occurring,” she said.

e bill requires that judges must place health records under seal, and it includes legal protections for professionals who make ERPO decisions in good faith, including if they don’t le a petition and their client goes on to commit an act of violence.

Dr. George Hertner, president of Emergency Medical Specialists in Colorado Springs, said that emergency room doctors are well-posi- tioned to identify dangerous cases.

“We are able to identify and treat these individuals. We treat the victims of these violent crimes,” he said. “What we are lacking is the ability to raise our hands and cry out, ‘Help, this person is at risk.’” e Colorado Medical Society and the Colorado Psychiatric Society have both requested amendments to the bill, according to lobbying records.

“CMS understands the issues in this bill and wants to ensure that in situations where physicians are trying to help that they do not either unintentionally get exposed to other risks per other laws and regulations,” wrote a spokesperson for CMS in an email.

Other witnesses said that expanding the red ag law could save lives.

“You think about all the ‘what ifs,’” said Jane Dougherty, whose sister Mary Sherlach was killed while trying to stop the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. “What if the shooter didn’t have access to those guns?” e ERPO bill passed the committee on party lines with a 3-2 vote. It heads next to the full Senate. Later in the day, the committee was set to consider bills that would create more legal liability for the rearm industry and raise the rearm purchase age to 21. is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr. org.