Opinion by Amanda Suffecool
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Red flag laws – and my open letter to our elected representatives. This is what I sent to mine, feel free to add, subtract, modify, and send to yours.
As a gun owner and an active 2A advocate, let me start by stating that I am not in favor of red flag laws being invoked across the country.
But I am a realist. They are coming. Our elected officials are being driven into a position – some call it between a rock and a hard place – where they will be forced to do something, even if it’s wrong, even if it does nothing to solve the issue at hand.
The cries heard are ‘we are facing murders in waves across the country“, or ‘it’s getting worse, and we must take action.’ Data does not support the statement of mass killings/firearms death/crime increasing, but it does not matter. One death is one too many. Families are mourning; communities are in shock.
We all want to ‘fix it,’ what we are trying to get our heads around, and our legislation to stop, what we are trying to get agreement upon is… if we are forced legislatively to give up our guns, would these murders stop?
Gun owners, you and I track these attacks, and the ones that are also hate-filled and happen with knives, cars, and boarded up buildings to burn all that is inside (all current attacks in areas where guns are banned, restricted or unavailable as tools to a person where hate runs rampant).
I have respect for all that are searching, thinking, and asking- maybe in a different manner than I, but asking none the less, What can we do to stop the evil?
I am asking you to read this over, I have queried the best and the brightest in the 2A world for their opinions on what should be included in red flag – if we must have it. They are as follows.
Concerns include – due process or lack thereof. Using red flags as a manner of societal punishment or using the police force in a manner to ‘swat’ the gun owner.
If we must have red flag – please consider the following inclusions.
- Due process – invoke a time frame (12 hours or less) from the time of the accusation to being seen before a judge AND the same standard of law used to involuntarily commit a person who is a threat to themselves and the public as the standard.
- Storage – if you are taking personal property, storage in a manner that PRESERVES the condition of said property in the manner it was found in.
- Guarantee of return of property – in a (set time ) manner when the person is found to be exonerated.
- Invoke fines and penalties – to those who are found to make false claims. False claims can ruin someone’s life (look at the spate of rape accusations). AND an expectation of prosecution of those that use bogus claim for their own means and motives. AND add the ability to use the law to obtain punitive damages (civil and criminal penalties) against the accuser for false claims.
- If the person is found to be a threat – do not take the firearms (the tools) take the person. We have seen other tools used against the public by those who are a threat ( recently – the use of knives, acid, fire, and vehicles). It’s about the hate, the crime, the mental illness more than it’s about the tools.
Mental health officials can use “pink slip” involuntarily detain and evaluate a person who is believed to have the ideation, plan, intent, and means to harm himself/herself or someone else.
Our future is in your hands. Actions, for the sake of actions, generally help no one. Our trust is placed in you; please set the country’s future course and direction with thought for all that inhabit it. The Second Amendment is not negotiable and must be defended, and our hope is with you.
I have spent my life on Second Amendment issues, and will gladly offer myself and my contacts as resources should you have additional questions on this topic.
Sincerely
Amanda Suffecool
- Host – EyeOnTheTargetRadio
- Delegate – Ohio Representative of the Pro Firearms Education group DCProject.info
- Director – REALIZE firearms awareness coalition.
Red Flag laws are unconstitutional because it denies the accused of “due process” before the fact. The fact is not evidence at best it is a possibility of action probably based on a lying spouse or someone else. The person is guilty because a spouse or someone is mad. I am retired Law Enforcement and have lost track of how many family fights or “Domestic Disturbance” calls I have rolled on. The participants lie like a rug and without verification of the incident any action you take is questionable. All parties claim theirs comments are the truth and everyone else… Read more »
Amanda, with all due respect, your letter sounds like you are pleading before the king, not demanding fealty to the Constitution from a representative whose duty it is govern with honor and restraint, and who, btw, WORKS FOR YOU.
It ain’t the other way around. Pleading won’t get it done; fire in the eyes, iron in the words, and the promise that we will not submit – these are the qualities and tactics needed.
Not threats, but a clear message of determination. Nothing less will do.
The Rino’s that are writing these anti Constitutional laws are saying that their bill follows the Constitution. If that were true it would be a better solution than the 14 red flag laws that are already in force in various states. Of course, if a ll the protections were in place there are laws on the books that fulfill that need. Those laws do not apply strictly to guns, only, and that is the problem. They just want the guns, not the hammers or cars.
ERPOs miss one very BIG point. If the person is too dangerous to have a gun, what about all their other potential weapons? Hammers, knives, bats, household chemicals, car/truck, etc.?
So it’s OBVIOUS ERPOs are not anti-threat, they are anti-gun.
We in the gun world have been claiming for years that it is not the tool, but the people. The concept behind Red Flag Laws is exactly that: get the people who are likely to commit the crime. Of course, the arrest, commitment, or confiscation must be done while maintaining the rights of the “accused” individual. This to me, is the definition of “due process of law.” That means that all the legal and constitutional rights of an individual must be protected. Right to an attorney, right to a speedy trial, right to be faced by your accuser, right to… Read more »
OMG,the defeatism and surrender into tyranny is incredible coming from so called 2nd Amendment Supporters and die hard ‘Constitutionalists’. You do realize the state has murdered a man in MD enforcing these Draconian Orwellian Unconstitutional laws, right? If the Government is so concerned about the person being so dangerous, why not confiscate the person and not the guns to leave that person to use other weapons to commit a harmful act? This about a major power grab by both parties. Again, The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits the purchase or possession of firearms by people who have been formally… Read more »
“If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”
Samuel Adams
Amanda, While i always want to be as polite as i can, this may not be the time for it. I have never heard your radio show but I hope this essay is not the kind of thing being broadcast over the air. For me, there is way too much defeatism and surrender in all of this. If you are reaching out for ideas, your list should insist upon a sunset provision. Since it is unknown whether this solution ( giving up your right to due process ) will make any difference, you should insist that these be treated as… Read more »
“. . . will be forced to do something, even if it’s wrong, even if it does nothing to solve the issue at hand.” While no doubt many supporters of the Red Flag Laws truly believe they will help, they are driven by emotion, not reason. They don’t see the faults in the logic because they are driven by their feelings. Indeed, who does not have an emotional reaction to these mass murders? While the supporters are sincere, many anti-gunner leaders are disingenuous. They know these laws will likely have little or no effect. That’s the point — pass one… Read more »
Will, I joined GOA 2017. Have not given NRA any money since 2008.