Committee for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Jen Leffler.

Thank you, Jim.

>> Kentuckians experiencing a mental health crisis could have gone to temporarily taken from them.

If a judge decides its best.

That's if what's called the car at becomes law car stands for a crisis of version and rights for tension.

It's similar to a red flag law.

It tries to balance gun ownership rights and personal or public safety supporters of the legislation met in Frankfort today to explain why they think the bill is needed.

That included Whitney Austin, a mass shooting survivor and activist and the creator of Whitney Strong, a group working for a non-partisan approach to ending gun violence.

>> They need to make sure that lawmakers understand what gun violence looks like in the state.

But I'm not looking forward to talking about how bad the reality is on the issue.

You know, we had more than 140 people die to gun violence in the state of Kentucky in 2023.

64 1% of those deaths.

We're suicide by firearm.

And we know that those suicides are happening in a rate.

That's almost 1.2, 5 times higher than our rural areas than in urban areas.

So that's not an exciting conversation.

It's the exact opposite.

There were a number of gun violence incidents that occurred in our state over the last year where car could have made a difference.

The first was the shooting on I-75.

There were 5 people injured and that person was exhibiting warning signs of violence for quite some time.

And that's where car works.

And then secondly, there was a double homicide in Elizabeth Town.

It was an interpersonal violence incidents, but car could have been used to transfer that fire along firearm.

But for the protection order was issued.

And so that stuff is so close to my heart.

And I don't want to see any more incidents like that happening, Kentucky, when we have a tool that can make a difference that can stop it from this piece of legislation is not for law abiding gun owners.

I'm a gun owner, chair.

This piece of legislation is for gun owners going through a mental health crisis whereby no other solutions work to stop them from killing themselves or killing other people.

So it is a very, very narrow tool that will help keep all of us safe and to not burden law abiding gun owners.

We know that it's a long road and that the issue of gun violence is not getting any better.

So we've got to KET showing up and eventually will 6 seats.

We will pass this bill.

>> The car act is outlined in Senate Bill 235.

And is sponsored by Democratic state senator and Minority Whip David Yates of Louisville.

It's currently waiting to be heard in the Judiciary Committee.

A similar bill filed last year