By: Teresa Mull
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on a feral “red flag” gun confiscation bill.
H.R. 2377, the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Act of 2021, would “allow government agents to confiscate legally-owned firearms from law-abiding citizens without due process and with no crime having ever been committed,” reports the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR).
“It is a blatant violation of the Constitution by any measure,” notes NAGR.
What’s more, so-called “Republican” Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott from Florida have already expressed report for red flag laws.
NAGR is urging gun owners to sign this petition to stop the bill from moving forward.
As a reminder, red flag laws are unconstitutional, ineffective, and dangerous. What’s more – a red flag law cost a man his life in Maryland already. Watch the video to learn more about these terrifying laws:
Second Amendment supporters need to be aware of just how scary these bills are, particularly that:
1. Law-abiding gun owners are guilty until proven innocent under ERPOs.
These bills open the floodgates for vindictive family members, friends, or John Q. Public to accuse you of almost anything as justification to take your firearms. They can take these accusations to court, even though you’ve never been charged with or convicted of a crime. At that point, you are on defense to try to convince the judge why you should be able to keep your guns and your Second Amendment rights. These laws are a gross violation of the rights guaranteed to us as American citizens by the Fourth Amendment.
2. ERPOs open up a Pandora’s Box of ways for cunning lawyers and conniving family members to exploit gun owners.
Red flag ERPO bills have been written so broadly on two fronts that in some instances, people are given near-endless possibilities by which to use the legal system to persecute gun owners.
Some ERPO bills restrict those who can report “high risk” individuals to family and law-enforcement, whereas some laws would expand the list to allow just about anybody to accuse.
The list of what violations you can be reported for is all over the place. If you drank beer one night, and someone took that the wrong way or thought you were out of control, they could take that to court. If someone was in your house and felt your guns were not stored properly, it could be grounds for a report. If you made a comment to someone or seemed depressed, virtually raising any type of “mental health” red flag could end with you battling for your Second Amendment rights in court.
3. The time frame for confiscation can go on for months.
ERPOs can last for weeks, months, or up to a year in cases where a gun owner would have to appear for repeated court hearings to try to win back his or her Constitutional rights. In some instances, the government would hold onto your guns for you; other bills have a neutral third party holding onto your guns.
4. Both political parties are supporting ERPOs.
Many would have you believe that Democrats are leading the charge for gun control. But, as we noted, Republicans are leading efforts as well.
Teresa Mull ([email protected]) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.