14 Apr In-the-News Update [Issue: 2nd Amendment]
As we have stated in the past, it is incumbent upon every freedom-loving American citizen not to become complacent in their state’s perceived political climate or the assurance that their state would “never flip blue.” Because sometimes, “Red” politicians start turning different shades of purple.
This week’s breaking 2nd Amendment news points this message at Tennesseans specifically, because we are now facing a call by our own Governor, Bill Lee, to pass an extreme risk protection order following the recent shooting at the Covenant School, as well as several days of significant protests by gun control activists at the State House. Extreme risk protection orders, commonly known as Red Flag Laws, are policies that generally allow third parties to contact law enforcement and warn of an individual who is claimed to be a safety risk to themselves or others, in which law enforcement would then seek a court’s approval to confiscate that individual’s firearms without any due process or the chance of the accused to plead their case in front of a judge. While the conceptual idea behind red flag laws claim to allow the state to “temporarily” remove firearms from potentially dangerous people, when put into practice, it simply means that anyone with a grudge could file a claim against a gun owner, who then without any prior warning, might find themselves subject to police making forced entry into their home to confiscate firearms that the person in question is otherwise in legal possession of. This goes without mentioning the inherent risks that no-knock raids pose to both police officers and citizens, given that we are specifically talking about armed individuals being visited by other armed individuals who might not have previously identified themselves as law enforcement. It is an obvious recipe for potentially deadly outcomes.
What’s worse, is that Gov. Bill Lee’s call for red flag laws comes less than a year after he indicated that he would not seek gun control as a remedy to violence, stating, “We’re not looking at gun restriction laws in my administration right now. There’s one thing to remember, criminals don’t follow the laws. Criminals break laws… We can’t control what we can’t control.” So what happened Govenor Lee? Where did our “staunch 2nd Amendment supporter” go? And if/when your red flag laws are put into place, are you going to be standing side by side officers stacked at the doorway, ready to enforce the policy yourself? Or will you simply be in your office drafting up a statement about how tragic it is when officers and citizens alike lose their lives in avoidable suburban shootouts as a result of no-knock raids in the middle of the night?