Michigan's red flag laws came to be after a groundswell of support for gun control measures following the November 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School that killed four and injured seven others.

Now, more than two years after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the red flag bill into law, Republican lawmakers want those laws gone. 

Red flag laws allow family members, law enforcement or health care providers to petition their local civil court and have firearms removed from an individual's home. They can also prevent a person from purchasing a firearm who is deemed a risk to themselves or others by a court. 

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said there are elements of red flag laws that make them really helpful for safety, but the laws can be used in a way that encroaches on the rights of gun owners. 

"I think that there is a need to take guns away from individuals who have mental illness and or are a threat to themselves or others. There's a huge need, but I know there's a delicate balance," Lucido said. 

Gun rights activists say red flag laws don't allow a gun owner to plead their case before their firearms are temporarily taken away by law enforcement. It's a perspective that lawmakers heard in the Michigan House this week.  

"There is no other constitutional right where we allow legally owned property to be seized because of the actions of another person," said Brenden Boudreau, the executive director of Great Lakes Gun Rights. 

Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would repeal Michigan's red flag laws. It's a move Boudreau said he applauds. 

"It's a Fourth Amendment issue. We're taking away people's property without due process, without any kind of a conviction of a crime," said Boudreau. 

Repealing Michigan's red flag laws would face steep opposition in the Democratically controlled Senate, but Boudreau said he's still glad to see movement on the effort.