The move drew criticism from conservatives and others, who warned it would be used to crack down on Second Amendment rights and target political opponents.
The Biden administration is setting up a national center to provide training and technical assistance to help police, prosecutors, judges, and others implement “red flags” laws more effectively to take away guns from Americans “who pose a threat to themselves or others,” drawing criticism from some conservatives.
Red flag laws basically let someone like police, family members, or medical professionals bring a claim to an emergency court alleging that a person is mentally unwell and is a danger to themselves or others. If the court accepts the claim, that individual can then be “flagged” and prevented from buying firearms and allows the police to seize any guns in their possession.
Advocates of these types of laws, which have been implemented in a number of states, argue they’re needed to keep firearms out of the hands of people who are potentially dangerous.
“The launch of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center will provide our partners across the country with valuable resources to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a March 23 statement.
Critics argue that these laws deny gun owners their Second Amendment rights without due process.
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As of March 2024, 21 states and the District of Columbia have enacted red flag laws.
Even though ERPOs are civil orders as opposed to criminal ones, violating such an order could be a criminal offense.
‘Database to Disarm MAGA’
The DOJ says that the new centralized red flag hub will provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement officials, prosecutors, attorneys, judges, clinicians, victim service and social service providers, community organizations, and behavioral health professionals—in short, those who are responsible for implementing red flag laws in their states or cities.
“Supporting our law enforcement and community partners in curbing the scourge of gun violence is more critical than ever,” Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said in a statement.
The website also provides a platform for the red flag center to highlight new ways and strategies to implement ERPOs more effectively.
The announcement of the red flag center drew immediate criticism from some lawmakers, Second Amendment advocates, and others.
“What the hell is this evil? A Federal Red Flag center; We did not authorize this,” he wrote.
“Oh look. The DOJ just created a program to red flag Trump supporters at the same time they are allowing for illegals to have guns,“ she wrote. ”We all know this will only be used against Trump supporters, so let’s just call it what it is. A red flag database to disarm MAGA. Communism.”
The graphic, developed by the Firearms Policy Coalition, shows a hypothetical set of events starting from a gun owner named “Randy” posting a harmless photo of himself and his son at a gun range, triggering “Karen” who after seeing the post calls local state agents to report “suspicions that Randy might be a risk to the community.”
Then “biased state agents” use red flag powers to claim that Randy is a dangerous threat, raising the matter with a local court, which determines it’s acceptable to confiscate Randy’s guns, leading to a middle-of-the-night police raid that ends tragically.
“Randy is awakened at 3 am by loud crashing noises, flash bangs, and death threats while his wife and son scream in terror,” a caption in the graphic reads.
“Randy is murdered while instinctively trying to protect his family,” it continues.
The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) has alleged that red flag laws can easily be abused by biased officials.
Vice President Harris heads the Gun Violence Prevention Office.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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