A Grieving Nation and Red Flag Laws

My pulse raced when I saw his Jeep outside the nightclub. My sister had threatened him with a restraining order but the prick beat her to the courthouse. Clever bastard convinced some halfwit judge she was “irrational and suicidal.” That’s what the cop said when he rang her doorbell and took her gun. I jumped out of my car and sprinted toward the door. That’s when the first shot rang out.

That story, thankfully, is fiction. The grief, anger and sadness following the mass shooting in Columbine, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Newtown, Charleston, Orlando, San Bernardino, Las Vegas, Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton are not. Grappling with those horrible events and apparent gridlock in Washington is tearing at America’s heart. What can we do? Can monsters be contained? The country cries out for action.

Will Red Flag Laws Work?

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Passing red flag laws seems to be at the top of everyone’s list. Red flag laws pushed by the media and talked about by President Trump, along with members of Congress, are “under serious consideration.” That’s too bad, those laws will not solve the mass-shooting problem. They actually do more harm than good. Red flag laws let police confiscate guns without due process, thus violating our Second, Fourth and Fifteenth Amendments, which guarantee our right to bear arms and due process.

There is little downside for going after someone else’s gun.

Pushing the Constitution aside, fifteen states and the District of Columbia have some version of red flag laws. It should be noted that President Trump’s statement that he is “considering red flag laws” is very different than actually committing to signing any. If you look at his actual statements, he has only agreed to discuss them. He may be buying time and hoping to deflate the issue: “Yeah, sure…let’s talk.” The anti-gun horde, however, wants our guns.

Take my AR-15, Please

Red flag laws are worse than confiscating AR-15’s (AR’s), for example. If the government took your AR there are many other guns available for self-defense, hunting and recreation. If your anti-gun liberal sister in Seattle who wants all guns outlawed uses her fervor, and genuine concern for your safety, to convince a court you’re one latte away from a mall massacre, you’re screwed. Red flag laws can be weaponized.

The Left is using mass shootings to push their gun control agenda. Judges have strong incentives to cast a wide net and grab as many potential shooters as possible. Miss one and they’re not only likely out of a job but stricken with guilt for the rest of their lives. Using the mere possibility that a person might commit a crime as justification to punish a person or infringe upon their rights turns the presumption of innocence on its head. Yet, that is exactly what the red flag laws do.

Proponents of red flag laws say the confiscation is temporary. After a fixed period of time, it varies but perhaps only a few weeks, the gun owner can ask for a court hearing to retrieve their gun. In practice, however, few gun owners can afford to hire a lawyer and expert witnesses to walk them through the process and prove they are no longer dangerous. It is a high hurdle in a risk-averse arena, the court system. Reversing a confiscation order is dripping in risk.

This Too Shall Pass

Red flag laws make it too easy to take personal property, to grab our guns. In 12 states and D.C. blood relatives, in-laws, current and former cohabitants, current and former intimates, physicians, and mental health specialists, can file petitions to take away a weapon. A pending California bill would add employers, co-workers, and school personnel to the state’s already lengthy list of potential petitioners. To date, your local barista is not listed but we know the list will expand, it will never be shortened.

In most red flag states the person who has had their gun taken has few rights. Colorado is the only state that provides counsel to respondents who cannot afford a lawyer. In some states, the accuser and supporting witnesses do not testify in court, where they could be cross-examined. Instead, accusers simply submit an affidavit. No state lets petitioners sue their accusers for knowingly misrepresenting facts in their petitions. There is little downside for going after someone else’s gun.

As we search for answers Byron York had an interesting take. He tweeted: “Some who in past have said violent movies do not inspire mass killers, who have said violent video games do not inspire mass killers, now ascribe enormous powers to President Trump to inspire mass killers.” Indeed, this is, once again, absurd political Kabuki Theater from the left. They do not want to solve this problem because this problem gives them ammo (pun intended) to bludgeon their opponents. This too shall pass.