Collins files military crisis intervention bill

(The Center Square) — Maine's Republican Sen. Susan Collins wants the U.S. military to use state crisis intervention laws to seize weapons belonging to military members who are deemed a threat to themselves or others.

The Armed Forces Crisis Intervention Notification Act, filed by Collins on Monday, would require the military to utilize intervention programs, such as Maine's yellow flag law, and to participate in judicial proceedings where a state judge considers a request to seize a service members' weapons.

Collins said the proposal , filed in response to the October 2023 Lewiston shooting where U.S. Army reservist Robert Card shot and killed 18 and injured dozens, strikes a balance between protecting public safety and service members' Second Amendment and due process rights.

"The Lewiston tragedy requires legislation and other changes to eliminate the communication gaps that the investigations have revealed," Collins said in a statement. "We have a chance to help service members in crisis. We have a chance to help protect our neighbors and families. We have a chance to save lives."

The legislation does not create a federal crisis intervention program, Collins said, and the Armed Forces would be required to operate under each state's crisis intervention laws. It also would not impact the military's authority to disarm service members in situations unrelated to a credible threat of violence or involuntary commitment to a mental institution.

Another bill sponsor, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said the legislation includes "guardrails to protect the Second Amendment" but "strengthens the information sharing practices that can literally be the difference between life and death."

"We cannot bring back our friends and family members we lost last October, but we can take steps to fix the cracks in the system that led to the tragedy," King said in a statement. "This public safety threat is a complex problem that requires a wide range of approaches."

The lawmakers said reports from the Army Reserve, Army Inspector General and a state commission established by Maine Gov. Janet Mills indicate there were "numerous missed opportunities" to intervene to take away Card's firearms while he received mental health treatment.

"All of these investigations revealed that there were numerous missed opportunities to potentially intervene and prevent this horrific tragedy," Collins said. "In many instances, there was a clear lack of effective communication and coordination."

The Lewiston shooting was the worst in Maine's history and drew national attention to the largely rural state, which has the country's lowest crime rate but a long record of resisting firearm restrictions.

Card's family members had reportedly alerted the Army and local authorities that he was having mental health issues and was heavily armed. He had been placed in a psychiatric unit about three weeks before the shooting, family members said.

Mills backs the legislation and sent a letter last week to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urging the department to "serve as a productive partner in the consideration of this legislation" and to "advocate for it to become law."

"Providing the military with this authority will equip them with another tool to address potentially dangerous situations among military personnel and close communication gaps, which will help protect people, prevent violence, and save lives," Mills, a Democrat, said in a statement.