Thanks to California for taking the lead on common sense...

Aug 27 (Reuters) - A bill allowing family members to ask a judge to
order firearms removed from people likely to commit gun violence
advanced in California on Wednesday, one of several gun control
measures up for votes in the last week of the state's legislative
session.

The measure was introduced after police near Santa Barbara said they
were unable to confiscate weapons from a man who later went on a
rampage and killed six people, despite concern from his family that he
was in poor mental health and might become violent.

The bill passed the senate 23-8. It passed the assembly once, but now
goes back for a vote on amendments before heading to Democratic
Governor Jerry Brown.

If Brown, who has steered a centrist course on gun control
legislation, signs the bill, California would be the first U.S. state
to enact such a law.

"Nothing can bring back the life of my son, but there are common-sense
solutions that can help ensure other loved ones aren't killed by
preventable gun violence," said Richard Martinez, whose son,
Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, was killed by 22-year-old Elliott
Rodger in the rampage in Isla Vista in May.

"This bill will save lives and spare other families from suffering the
anguish we experience each day."

The bill, sponsored by Assemblymembers Nancy Skinner and Das Williams,
creates a so-called gun violence restraining order in the court
system. Under it, immediate family members and law enforcement
agencies could petition a judge to order guns temporarily removed from
certain individuals.

The restraining order would last 21 days, and could extend it up to a
year, after a notice and a hearing.

The bill has wide support from law enforcement agencies, and is based
on an existing law that temporarily blocks people with domestic
violence restraining orders from owning a gun.

"If it can save one life, one family from that agony, it will be worth
it," state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Democrat, said during
debate.

Several Republican senators spoke against the bill, saying there are
already measures to keep guns away from dangerous and unstable people.

Critics also say the bill infringes on the Second Amendment right to
keep and bear arms.

"This bill really misses the mark of trying to achieve a public policy
goal without infringing on constitutional rights," said Brandon Combs,
president of California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees.
(Joaquin Palomino reported from San Francisco; Editing by Sharon
Bernstein and Sandra Maler)