LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky lawmakers want to try again to pass a law that removes a gun from its owner if they've proven to be a threat to themselves or others.

Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield told WDRB News on Wednesday, the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary will meet Dec. 15 and discuss two versions of a CARR Law.

CARR stands for Crisis Aversion and Rights Retention.

It's supported by Whitney Austin, a Louisville-native who survived a mass shooting inside a bank in Cincinnati in 2018. 

Austin was shot 12 times walking into the Fifth Third headquarters, three others were killed.

"I thought I was going into work at Fifth Third Bank like any other day, but in reality, it was the exact opposite, and that I walked into mass violence," Austin said.

After the shooting, Austin founded the Whitney/Strong Foundation, a nonprofit that works to end gun violence. Previously, she has worked with Kentucky lawmakers to back policies to prevent shootings.

"We are gun owners, and the vast majority of gun owners are responsible, they're safely storing their firearms. They're keeping them for one of the many reasons that people own firearms, and they are law abiding, this is not about them at all," Austin said. "What CARR is for, this is for the gun owners among us who are struggling and need help. It's a very targeted small population of people."

State Sen. David Yates (D -Louisville) plans to be a co-sponsor of Westerfield's bill. 

"This is about someone who's in a mental health crisis," Yates said.

Yates said the bill could allow law enforcement to temporarily remove firearms from a gunowner if family or friends have provided reason, and evidence that the person has threatened themselves or others. That person would have the option to forfeit their guns or refuse and be entitled to a heating in front of a judge.

Westerfield previously said what makes CARR different from a 'red flag' law is that it addresses Second Amendment concerns.

"This isn't a gun grabbing bill, this isn't an anti-gun bill. I'm a gun carrier and respect the Second Amendment, but no right isn't without any type of limitations. You can't yell 'fire' in a theater," Yates said.

Kentucky has previously tried to pass similar laws. A measure backed by two former senators — Republican Paul Hornback and Democrat Morgan McGarvey — was filed in 2021 but was never assigned to a committee. McGarvey, now a U.S. representative from Louisville, filed a similar bill in 2022. It died in a committee.

"If it doesn't pass, it doesn't pass but we better have this conversation," Yates said. "If we don't agree with it, let's talk about why not, but let's get it in front of the public, have our best experts with an alphabet behind their name and testify about what works and what doesn't work." 

The conversations around similar laws re-surfaced in April, after a man walked into Old National Bank in downtown Louisville shot and killed five people and hurt eight others.

When LMPD released the investigation file into the Old National Bank shooting, the file included a large collection of the shooter's personal writings, that noted his struggle with mental health. He also wrote about his desire to "make an impact," and show how easy it was for someone with his level of history of mental illness to purchase a gun.  

While the mass shooting in Louisville was personal for Yates, who knew one of the victims, and Austin, who watched others go through what she did in 2018, both said no matter what shooting, both feel CARR could prevent further tragedy.

"Research shows that there is an opportunity to recognize the signs, intervene, and transfer a firearm away from the person who's thinking of doing this awful thing," Austin said. "This is about helping gun owners who are in a crisis moment." 

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