By: Teresa Mull

The Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is the chairman, held a meeting on Capitol Hill today to discuss federal gun control, and specifically, red flag gun confiscation laws, which enable people to accuse gun owners of being “dangerous” and grant cops the right to raid their homes and seize their firearms without due process.

“…Graham acknowledged Tuesday that any federal bill on guns would be a heavy lift,” Politico reports. “But he said state red flag laws could be a start.”

Graham said during his opening remarks:

“I think passing a federal law is probably beyond what the market will bear…if [states] do it in a certain way, the federal government will incentivize you. I think that’s the best way at least initially to solve this problem.”

Politico further reports:

Although Senate Republicans said they were open to the idea of red flag laws, several voiced concern about whether such restrictions could violate individual constitutional rights. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said that any red flag legislation “needs to include the utmost protection for due process rights.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that red flag laws can “potentially be part of the solution” but that policymakers need to be able to balance protecting public safety with protecting constitutional rights.

Representatives from the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) handed out information and spoke about the dangers of red flag laws – which NAGR opposes in all forms – at a talk held before the Senate hearing. The talk was attended by Senate staffers and at least one representative from the White House, though no representatives from Graham’s office were present.

The Dirksen Building, where the red flag meeting was held, had a line outside of it made up of many “Moms Demand Action” members in red shirts. The NAGR representatives were informed by a hill staffer that Graham had intentionally chosen a smaller hearing room so fewer people could attend the hearing.

Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at teresa@gunpowdermagazine.com.