Red Flag Laws are Bad Policy

“Legislating away our best method of personal defense is nothing short of asinine.”

On August 3, 2019 a man walked into a Walmart in El Paso, Texas and murdered twenty innocent people. The very next day, in Dayton, Ohio another man walked into a bar and killed nine. In the days to follow more would die from injuries they sustained from the acts of evil that were carried out by these deranged individuals. There are two absolute truths that must be acknowledged as a result of this: those that carried out these killings are evil throughout their entire beings – in ideology, spirit, and mind these men were motivated by bigotry, hatred, and spite. We must also accept and acknowledge the fact that something must be done in our society to stop these large scale, public killings that have become to characterize our great nation.

There are many plausible theories why these shootings continue to occur. There are many reasons why people kill. To say that these occur simply because of the Second Amendment guaranteeing American citizens private gun ownership is intellectually lazy. So too is saying that these occur because of mental illness. These tragedies have become endemic of our society and a bane to our culture. It is an unfortunate truth of reality that human beings will never stop killing, but that does not mean we ought to stop trying to prevent needless slaughter. Throughout the years, there have been many hypothetical legislative restrictions on gun ownership. These are commonly referred to as “gun control.” One gun control measure that is frequently proposed – whenever the opportunity arises – is the concept of “Red Flag Laws.”

“Red Flag Laws are immoral and unjust.”

Red Flag Laws have been gaining popularity lately with the GOP. President Trump endorsed them, Congressional Republicans have been flirting with the idea of them, and in the wake of the Dayton shooting Ohio Governor Mike DeWine mentioned that he is not opposed to implementing them in Ohio. They even have wide public appeal. But what exactly are Red Flag Laws?

Red Flag Laws are a specific type of legislation that refers to when the courts and law enforcement act in concert to circumvent due process ­to confiscate privately owned firearms of an American citizen. This is achieved when a third party – acting in good faith – approaches the court with concerns about an individual’s mental stability. The court may then issue an order that enables the police to confiscate the firearms of the individual in question.

There are several red flags with the very notion of Red Flag Laws.

The very first being the fact that they allow the government to disregard due process as it is enshrined in the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and confiscate private without legal cause. Additionally, the individuals in question are not permitted to make their case before the court in the form of a rebuttal or defense, the only argument that is heard is that of the petitioner seeking to have firearms taken away. Secondly, the very success of Red Flag Laws depends entirely upon all parties acting in good faith and that no action taken is politically – or otherwise maliciously ­­– motivated. To insist that this will never occur is simply naive. Thirdly, those that are legitimately mentally unstable will be less likely to pursue treatment if they feel that it will result in the confiscation of their property or other forms of legal ramification. Fourthly, red flag laws are entirely arbitrary. At any time, any individual may petition a court to initiate the process of confiscation for any length of time and they do not require a mental health diagnosis or professional medical opinion to do so. Mere suspicion is enough.

Red Flag Laws are immoral and unjust. They emphasize and exasperate political hysteria and will do nothing but further widen the canyon of ideological divide in our country. They alienate the mentally ill and are antithetical to the very notions of justice that are enshrined in the United States Constitution.

Prior to 1968, one only needed to send in a mail order to a Sears catalog to buy a firearm and it wasn’t until after stricter gun control legislation passed that more mass shootings occurred. Additionally, since 1950, 94% of all mass public shootings occurred in gun-free zones. It is evident that the mere existence of firearms, as well as the constitutional right to possess and bare them, is not the cause of this violence. Something much darker is going on within human nature across the globe. Take for instance the recent uptick of fatal stabbings in Europe. Violence is not uniquely American. In order to find a solution, we need to take a long, hard look at our beliefs and values as a society and attack this issue from all angles. Until then, these killings will continue to occur. Legislating away our best method of personal defense is nothing short of asinine.

Follow this author on Twitter: @Mangold_Lenett

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