Lawmakers in Texas have approved bipartisan legislation that allows police to confiscate guns from people experiencing a “mental crisis.”

Senate Bill 1189, introduced by Republican state Senator Joan Huffman, authorizes law enforcement to seize firearms if a Texan is found to be a danger to themselves or others.

Suggested by Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit advocacy organization, the new law was recommended in a 2012 report calling for changes to the state’s mental health code, which hasn’t been updated since 1985.

The bill also establishes a procedure for police to return confiscated weapons to their owners once they are deemed safe to possess them again.

Governor Rick Perry must now decide whether to sign, veto it or do nothing with the legislation, which automatically becomes law if he does not act.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Bill Lets Police Take Guns From Those in Mental Crisis (by Brandi Grissom, Texas Tribune)

Texas Senate Bill 1189 (LegiScan)

Gun Lobby Suffers Rare Setback in Fight to Sell Weapons to Drug Cartels (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)