Posted on 03/14/2019 8:13:00 AM PDT by Sopater
Is more gun control legislation coming to Congress?
The 2018 midterm elections produced a split Congress with Democrats gaining control of the House and Republicans gaining seats in the Senate.
The change in House leadership will signal changes in gun control legislation in the near future. The Guardian has detailed House Democrats’ desire to pass gun control legislation in the upcoming Congress:
“Ted Deutch, a Democratic congressman from Florida who represents Parkland, where a February school shooting left 17 dead, said this week that he expected House Democrats to focus on bills with more bipartisan support. Those measures included bump stock bans and “extreme risk protection orders”, also known as red flag laws, which give law enforcement and family members a way to petition a court to temporarily bar an unstable person from buying or owning guns.”
Red flag laws might just be the “come together” moment establishment politicians have been looking for.
Red flag laws or Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) are the euphemistic label for new gun-control measures. Under red flag laws, law enforcement has the ability to confiscate an individual’s firearms who is deemed a threat to themselves or others. A simple accusation from a family member, friend, or associate will suffice to seize someone’s firearms.
These laws, mind you, operate in the absence of due process. The accused can have their weapons confiscated without even so much as a hearing a before a judge. It could take months before a gun owner would have to appear in court to win back his gun rights.
Thirteen states currently have red flag laws on the books, with dozens more filing their own versions. What started out as a state-level movement may have some legs at the federal level. Although it’s true that Congressional Democrats are making gun control a major theme of their legislative agenda, it’s naïve to think red flag laws are only relevant because of “gun-grabbing” Democrats have taken power.
As we’ll see below, red flag laws have a history of bipartisan support. And when any piece of legislation has Democrats and Republicans locking arms in agreement, you know trouble lies ahead.
Despite the passionate campaign rhetoric, a significant portion of Republican politicians will change colors on gun rights once in DC. Several GOP members in the upcoming Congress are notable when it comes to their gun control advocacy:
Lindsay Graham: The South Carolina Senator already introduced a red flag bill earlier this year. With the 116th Congress right around the corner, Graham will likely reach across the aisle with Democrat colleagues to move red flag legislation forward. Graham has opined that red flag legislation is the “place where we begin a long-overdue discussion about firearms and mental health. But we must start.”
Marco Rubio: Following the Parkland shootings, Rubio joined the gun control chorus by sponsoring a red flag bill along with Democrat Senators Joe Manchin, Bill Nelson, & Jack Reed. Rubio has even flirted with the idea of regulations on magazine clips, raising the minimum age to buy certain firearms like AR-15s, and tweaking the current background check system.
Rick Scott: the Former Governor of Florida (and now a U.S. Senator from Florida), Rick Scott poses an interesting threat to gun rights. Despite his ostensibly pro-gun rhetoric, Scott signed SB 7026 Florida’s most expansive gun control measure in recent history. Scott’s SB 7026 contains red flag provisions, raises the age to buy a firearm to 21, and imposes a three-day waiting period for all firearms purchases.
Trump Administration: Even the Executive branch is joining in on the red-flag craze. The Trump Administration’s Commission on School Safety recently released a report recommending red flag laws as a means to “address school safety and violence.” It’s likely only a matter of time before legislation is introduced in either chamber of Congress now that the Trump administration has endorsed red flag laws.
Larry Hogan, the Republican Governor of Maryland, recently signed a series of gun bills, one which included a red flag law. In October, the first month Maryland’s red flag law went into effect, there were 114 requests to confiscate individuals’ firearms.
Maryland’s red flag law has not been without its fair share of controversy. At 5 a.m on Monday, November 5, two police officers came knocking on 61-year-old Gary Willis’ door to serve him a court order mandating that he turn over his guns. What seemed like a typical court order, quickly turned deadly as one of the cops shot and killed Willis in a struggle that ensued. Quick to defend one of his own, Anne Arundel County Police Chief Timothy Altomare defended the cops’ action by callously claiming that they “did the best they could with the situation they had.”
The tragic incident in Maryland is an ominous sign of what may be to come should red flag laws gain more traction.
Those kinds of laws have been struck down by SCOTUS before. They will be again.
Not that that will stop the grabbers from trying again and again and again ...
Most gun owners already keep their guns secret except for a trusted few for theft prevention.
Gun owners routinely lie to anonymous pollsters asking do they own guns and how many, which explains the media memes of “more and more guns in fewer and fewer hands”, and “less than 3 percent of gun owners own more than 50 percent of all the guns”. Also meant to make gun owners seem politically insignificant.
With Red Flag the need for secrecy will become more critical. Carry your rifles to the car in a blanket rather than a gun case. Be aware that in blue states every residential block will have its snitches. Healthy caution will be realizing that society may be starting to resemble what existed in East Germany.
Not unrelated: in Britain the police are arresting nine people per day who criticized Islam on social media. As in a knock on the door and, “you’re under arrest, now come along quietly, mate”.
Things are changing and not for the better. PDJT is our only hope for our freedoms but for how long?
Let me add: PDJT’s bumpstock ban is a joke and IMO he intended it that way. Utterly unenforceable and the states which attempt to enforce it will look more ridiculous than they now do with their unenforceable “assault weapon” registration laws. None of the governors have sent out their flying monkeys yet.
That’s because the Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys didn’t have to worry about ground fire.
;^)
Really is it? More states going Constitutional carry.
Do you honestly think that matters anymore?
Yes. It matters. The problem is that it’s a lot of work and money to get it there.
Post #14 - true, but try that defense in court if you are on trial for a gun charge. Good people have had their lives ruined and have gone to prison. The Supreme Court refuses to even hear 2nd Amendment cases. Dark days are upon us. That’s the truth.
And the ball got rolling with FnDR.
“Marco Rubio: Following the Parkland... and tweaking the current background check system.”
Gun control advocates are attacking gun rights from various angles right now, whether that be Red Flag Laws or universal background checks (H.R.8).
My question for H.R.8 supporters is, do you know how a background check works? Or how they came to be? What about if the efforts are even utilitarian?
We do. And so should you: https://ammo.com/articles/background-checks-guide-history-nics-how-they-work
Violation of due process. Violation of 4th, 5th, 14th Amendments, perhaps more.
I’ve seen similar laws act out in real life. In NC anyone can go to the courthouse and request a 5150 psychiatric evaluation on someone. You just have to state you are concerned for their safety etc. Bang a sheriff shows up and off you go to the ER for an evaluation and possible 72 hour hold. I’ve seen it done by pissed off family members to each other, neighbors, etc.
This is going to be the nuclear weapon of divorce, custody battles, neighbor property disputes, family feuds etc etc etc.
Sounds as though the sheriffs need an eval for being dumb enough to do this to someone else.
The sheriffs have no choice. The order comes from a judge.
President Trump,better get the next conservative ready for the USSC.
Yes.
PDJT is giving the USA a respite for the next 4 to 8 years from a future revolt against the radical left. After that, all bets are off.
Everybody has a choice - sheriffs are elected. Make a poor choice and they can watch their budget shrink right before they’re recalled and voted out of office.
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