Richard Martinez pushes Red Flag Legislation against gun violence

Richard Martinez lost his 20-year-old son Christopher in the Isla Vista mass shooting four years ago. Since then he pushed for the passage of Red Flag Legislation in California. It became the first state to present the law back in September of 2014.

The law helps identify people who pose a risk to the community.

“What that law does is that it allows family members and law enforcement to go before a court and present evidence and if the judge concludes agrees with the evidence and finds that the individual poses a threat to other people then the judge can issue an order that a person can not have a gun or buy ammunition,” said Martinez.

Martinez realizes that the law will not be able to prevent every shooting tragedy, but he believes it could have helped in Florida.

“We know from the reports coming out of Parkland that the shooter, in that case, had a long history,” said Martinez. “Students knew. If they had a law like we have in California the family members and law enforcement would be able to do something about it.”

Many believe in stricter gun laws is the answer to fix this growing problem. Martinez says the polls prove that.

“The polls show that the mass majority of Americans want something done about this issue,” said Martinez. “If politicians are serious about doing something about this problem, it can be done.”