I’m more interested in knowing how many of the firearms were returned after the owners were deemed not to be a threat.
According to the Associated Press, Florida’s “Red Flag” laws that have been in place for over two years have removed hundreds of guns. Republican and conservative Americans have a problem with the “Red Flag” process as they feel it an attack on the 2nd amendment.
This “red flag” streamlines the “who cares about Due Process, right?” You’re guilty if your neighbor doesn’t like you or has a vendetta against you. There’s nothing more unconstitutional than being guilty and having to prove your innocence. Our system of law is based on innocent until proven guilty.
Meanwhile, firearms violations occur every day in the U.S., and federal officials don’t enforce laws that would put people in prison and take guns off the streets. Thousands of illegal firearms have gone to gang members in the same amount of time. Where is the law for a mandatory sentence for a stolen or illegal gun? Why are the gangs exempt from the laws?
Red flag laws are effective if you accept the fact that politicians, unlike the rest of us, can look into the future see the crime and prevent it.
The law, supported by legislators of both parties , has been applied more than 3,500 times since, with the pace accelerating during the last half of 2019. Even so, an Associated Press analysis of the law showed its use is inconsistent, with some counties and cities using it rarely and others not at all.
Advocates of Florida’s red flag measure say before it existed, it was often difficult to remove firearms from those making threats or suffering severe mental breakdowns. Investigators did not act on reports that the Parkland shooter was threatening to carry out a school massacre. But even if they had, it is likely he would have been allowed to keep his guns because he had no felony convictions or involuntary, long-term mental commitments, they say.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who leads a commission that investigated the massacre’s causes, says the shooter would have easily qualified for a red flag order. Gualtieri says while it is impossible to say that would have prevented the shooting, the gunman wouldn’t have been able to legally buy weapons or ammunition, making his preparation difficult.
“We have needed this law for decades,” said Gualtieri, who started a unit in his department that handles only red flag cases. [Associated Press/ABC Columbia]
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What a great thing to brag about. “Hundreds of times, the state denied due process to its citizens?” Not defending them or what they said or did, but they were denied due process. It would be interesting to know how many of them were convicted of criminal acts?
The short of it is that Red Flag laws are inherently flawed. If a person is dangerous enough that they shouldn’t be trusted with a gun, why are they to be trusted in public around your children and family? If they have committed a crime, bring them to court, give due process, and jail if guilty.
For laws to work, they must be enforced. Progressives will see that you can’t simultaneously make more stringent laws while being anti-law enforcement. Existing laws that could have impeded Parkland were never implemented.
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Mental illness seems to be at the root of many problems, including homelessness. Indeed, we don’t look to arrest homeless people who are breaking any number of laws. Get rid of guns, and other means of murder will take their place.
Crazies in France demonstrated that all you need is a big truck, which proved to be just as effective.
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