Be more like California...that's the wish of the American Bar Association, which is now encouraging states and local governments to adopt laws similar to a restrictive California gun law. The ABA recently approved a resolution urging governments to "enact statutes, rules, or regulations authorizing courts to issue gun violence restraining orders, including ex parte orders." Those ex parte orders allow a court to order the confiscation of a firearm without the input of the gun owner. California enacted so-called "gun violence restraining orders" in 2014 following a shooting spree in Santa Barbara, and followed with more gun control laws after the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist shootings.
Second Amendment advocates in Texas aren't worried about the ABA's resolution. "I don't see anything like that in any way, shape, form or fashion, by either party--Democrat or Republican--getting a prayer of a chance of happening in Texas," says Alice Tripp, legislative director for the Texas State Rifle Association. "What, are we gonna have gun police that go door-to-door?"
Tripp believes that laws like this come from a misguided belief that there aren't enough restrictions on gun ownership. "The list of people who cannot legally own, purchase, or possess a firearm...it's pretty long," she says. That list includes illegal aliens, soldiers who are dishonorably discharged, felons, and those convicted of misdemeanor family violence. "Anybody who thinks that firearms ownership is just rampant and unrestricted, simply doesn't know existing laws," says Tripp.