News Photo by Temi Fadayomi Firearms from Full Bore Firearms in Alpena are pictured on Friday afternoon. Red flag laws designed to temporarily take guns away from those who are deemed dangerous recently moved through the Michigan Legislature and await Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s signature. Some Northeast Michigan law enforcement officials have voiced opposition to the proposed laws.

ALPENA — Michigan’s proposed red flag laws have raised concerns among some Northeast Michigan law enforcement officials, who say the laws go against residents’ constitutional rights and may not accomplish their intended goals.

First introduced in February on the heels of several mass shootings, including one at Michigan State University, the proposed red flag laws have made it through the Michigan Legislature and await the signature of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“These are not gonna be the fix people intend them to be,” Alpena County Sheriff Erik Smith said. “We may be setting ourselves up for failure.”

Under these laws, certain individuals such as family members and law enforcement would be able petition a judge to execute an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) against someone they believe to be a threat to themselves or to others.

Under red flag laws, if the judge does serve someone with an ERPO, that person is prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm and is prohibited from applying for a Concealed Pistol Licence (CPL). Additionally, the laws revoke a CPL if a person already has one and they must temporarily surrender all firearms and ammunition in their possession.

Courts can only issue an ERPO if it “determines by the preponderance of the evidence” supports that the individual “can reasonably be expected within the near future to intentionally or unintentionally seriously physically injure” themselves or another individual by continuing to have access to a firearm,” according to language in Michigan Senate Bill 83, one of several bills dealing with gun reforms introduced after the MSU shooting.

Data from the Michigan State Police shows that as of April 1, Alpena County has 3,736 total CPL applications with 2,804 approved, 19 pending, 16 revoked, and 0 surrendered. Alcona County has 2,221 total CPL applications with 1,623 approved, 14 pending, four revoked, and three surrendered.

Presque Isle County has 1,883 total CPL applications with 1,473 approved, three pending, six revoked, and one surrendered. Montmorency County has 1,928 total CPL applications with 1,403 approved, five pending, five revoked, and none withdrawn.

Smith and Presque Isle County Sheriff Joe Brewbaker voiced their opposition to the proposed laws in a press release earlier this month from Great Lakes Gun Rights, a non-profit organization made of “gun owners and lovers of liberty,” according to its website.

The Michigan Sheriff’s Association voiced its support for the laws before the Michigan House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, though the release said members of the association were not polled before that position was taken.

“These laws trample all over the constitutional rights of the people that I’ve sworn to protect,”

Brewbaker said in the release.

If signed, the red flag law wouldn’t take effect until next year. Once Whitmer signs the bill, Michigan will become more than one of a dozen states with some form of red flag laws.

Whitmer earlier this month signed two other gun reforms into law, including one requiring residents to lock up guns in their homes and one expanding background checks for gun sales.

Messages seeking comment left for officials from the Montmorency County Sheriff’s Office and Alcona County Sheriff’s Office were not returned.