{"id":1731597,"date":"2022-11-09T06:03:07","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T11:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1731597"},"modified":"2022-11-09T09:03:13","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T14:03:13","slug":"fact-checkers-claim-red-flag-laws-arent-gun-confiscation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-checkers-claim-red-flag-laws-arent-gun-confiscation\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFact Checkers\u201d Claim Red Flag Laws Aren\u2019t Gun Confiscation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-checkers-claim-red-flag-laws-arent-gun-confiscation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1731597&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/baae949e-e82c-43f4-b688-096b4b0af2f7-1110x740-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>In addition to the thousands of candidates running for various federal, state, and local elected offices today, there are numerous ballot initiatives being presented to voters. You probably won\u2019t be surprised to hear that the Second Amendment is on the ballot in some states, such as the red flag law being proposed in Wisconsin and endorsed by Governor Tony Evers. As with most such laws, this one would allow a judge to order the police to immediately remove any firearms from the home of a person who is suspected of potentially posing a danger to themselves or others. The NRA\u2019s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) began running a radio advertising campaign to oppose the law, but Politifact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/6509899-Evers-Red-Flag-Law.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">quickly jumped in<\/a> to \u201cfact check\u201d the ad, labeling it \u201cmostly false.\u201d But as the NRA-ILA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nraila.org\/articles\/20221107\/fact-checker-forcible-removal-of-guns-before-their-owner-has-a-chance-to-make-his-case-in-court-is-not-confiscation-of-firearms-without-due-process\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">points out<\/a>, this is yet another example of a supposed \u201cfact check\u201d being far more of a case of biased political sleight-of-hand than any sort of factual analysis.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s election time, and supposedly \u201cindependent fact-checkers\u201d are again bending the truth to support a political agenda. This time they are contorting evidence and linguistics to insist it is \u201cmostly false\u201d that \u201cred flag laws\u201d allow the government \u201cto confiscate your firearms without due process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For some time now, the NRA has been warning of the problems, fallacies, and dangers of so-called \u201cred flag laws,\u201d including\u00a0<a id=\"reader.external-link.num-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nraila.org\/articles\/20220718\/significant-problems-with-ny-red-flag-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>,\u00a0<a id=\"reader.external-link.num-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nraila.org\/articles\/20220618\/red-flag-orders-enable-political-abuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>, and\u00a0<a id=\"reader.external-link.num-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nraila.org\/articles\/20220602\/the-nra-opposes-laws-to-judicially-nullify-second-amendment-rights\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Our basic points are simple.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>So is it accurate to say that the Wisconsin bill allows the removal of firearms from a person subjected to a \u201cred flag\u201d order\u00a0 \u201cwithout due process?\u201d The text of the bill would certainly suggest that to be the case. First of all, a judge can issue such an order in response to a complaint without the person in question being present for the proceeding. They may not even be aware that the hearing is taking place. If a sheriff or deputy shows up at the respondent\u2019s home, they are allowed to \u201crequire the respondent to immediately surrender all firearms in the respondent\u2019s possession.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In either of those scenarios, the person suspected of being a danger to themself or others will clearly not have the opportunity to challenge the order or defend themself with the help of an attorney. They will then face a lengthy and likely expensive legal battle to prove that they are not a threat and convince the authorities to return their firearms.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve written about red flag laws here in the past and this isn\u2019t really a black-or-white issue to me. Seeing gun confiscation taking place (and that\u2019s clearly what we\u2019re talking about in terms of the Wisconsin bill) should always make supporters of the Second Amendment uneasy. But there are times when erring on the side of caution may be excusable. People convicted of violent crimes don\u2019t really come into the equation here because they have already forfeited their right to be trusted to safely keep and bear arms. But other people without an applicable criminal record can sometimes cross a line where the use of a red flag law may be justifiable. If you assault someone or credibly threaten their life, you may be in need of a \u201ccooling off period\u201d during which it would be harder for you to do them harm. The same would apply to people who repeatedly talk about committing suicide.<\/p>\n<p>There is also a valid concern over the idea of giving a potentially violent person \u201ctoo much advance notice.\u201d If someone is legitimately considering a violent act with their firearm, sending them a notice to appear in court <em>might<\/em> make them change their mind, but it could also spur them to faster action before they lose their ability to carry out the plan.<\/p>\n<p>But these red flag laws also leave the door open to erroneous accusations or even intentional misuse. The most common hypothetical example is that of the \u201cangry girlfriend\u201d who falsely claims that her boyfriend threatened her life in order to cause trouble. A very liberal judge might prefer to issue such an order even if the evidence presented isn\u2019t credible just to \u201cget a couple more guns off the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If we\u2019re going to have such laws \u2013 and that\u2019s obviously the case today \u2013 it seems to me that they would have to be worded more strictly to ensure the maximum amount of due process without recklessly endangering anyone\u2019s life. A requirement for multiple witnesses, including someone not in a close relationship with the respondent, could be helpful and add a bit more protection against wrongful accusations. Video or audio evidence would be ideal. But more than anything else, such laws should include very stiff punishments including prison time for anyone found to have falsely made such an accusation just to take away the firearms of a person they are angry with. The biggest problem with that idea is the reality that many such disagreements take place in private with no witness or electronic recording of the disagreement. This leaves the courts with a literal \u201che said, she said\u201d scenario in many cases.<\/p>\n<p>There isn\u2019t going to be any sort of easy, one-size-fits-all solution to this controversy as far as I can tell. Holding someone accountable after they have committed a violent gun crime is obviously required. But for the victim, that accountability may come too late. As I said at the top\u2026 it\u2019s complicated.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t forget that we\u2019re not just covering the midterms tonight but are preparing for the all-important 2024 presidential cycle as well. We need to make sure Democrats are one and done in the White House, too. If you want real in-depth analysis and exclusive content and wish to support the long-term mission, join <a href=\"https:\/\/hotair.com\/subscribe?tpcc=TASvipweek110722\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HotAir VIP today<\/a>\u00a0and use promo code\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/hotair.com\/subscribe?tpcc=theamiableskeptics090922\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>VIPWEEK<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to receive 45% off your membership!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In addition to the thousands of candidates running for various federal, state, and local elected offices today, there are numerous ballot initiatives being presented to voters. You probably won\u2019t be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1731600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1731597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1731597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1731597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1731597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1731600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1731597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1731597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1731597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}