In all, 17 states, along with Washington D.C. have such
statutes. And the data appears to indicate that they’re working. Nonetheless,
civil libertarians have raised due process concerns. That includes
Pennsylvania, where
Red Flag laws are now before the state House and Senate.
Our
friends at Stateline.org neatly summed up the current, nationwide
debate over due process in a piece posted earlier this week, finding
that “most red flag laws are vague on what constitutes a ‘significant
danger’ [to public safety], which gives courts broad discretion to seize
firearms, Parris said. And in
some states, respondents are not guaranteed representation in court, since
these are civil and not criminal matters.”
In the year since Florida enacted its Red Flag law in the
wake of the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Fla., attorney Kendra Parris told Stateline that
she’s defended around 20 clients who were facing risk protection orders.
Parris told Stateline the statute is “almost
like a shiny new toy for law enforcement,” who have been “filing them left and
right.” Since Parkland, six states, and Washington D.C. have enacted such
statutes, Stateline reported.
Dave Kopel, the research director at the Denver-based
Independence Institute, a libertarian think tank, chimed in, telling Statelinte that
legislatures “have taken the same approach President Donald Trump spoke
in favor of in March 2018: ‘Take the guns first, go through due
process second.'”
Pennsylvania state Rep. Todd Stephens, the Montgomery
County Republican who’s sponsoring a Red Flag bill in the majority-GOP state
House, told
the Capital-Star earlier this year that he’s gone through his bill
line-by-line to dispel critics’ fear about any infringement on their
constitutionally protected due process rights.
Stephens bill provides for both the short-term seizure of
someone’s weapons as well as a longer, months-long ban that carries with it a
higher standard of evidence.
“Gun owners across Pennsylvania don’t realize that they can
be disarmed for life without a judge ever saying a word,” Stephens told
the Capital-Star, referring to state and federal law banning someone from
owning a gun if they’ve been subject to an involuntary commitment. “So when you
compare [extreme risk protection orders] with what the status quo is, it’s a
win for gun owners.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee is
set to hold two days’ worth of hearings on gun-safety measures on
Sept. 24 and Sept 25. A Senate Red Flag proposal, sponsored by Sen. Tom
Killion, R-Delaware, is likely to be on the docket for those hearings.
In an Aug.
23 op-Ed for the Capital-Star, Killion wrote that his legislation
would protect due process rights “of all involved.”
“This law would create a transparent process in which judges
can only order the relinquishment of firearms if there is compelling evidence
that individuals pose a serious danger,” he wrote. “Long-term orders can only
be issued after a full hearing is held, at which all parties can appear and
present evidence.”
Democratic Gov.
Tom Wolf has urged lawmakers to pass the Red Flag bills when they
return to session later this month.
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