Last week, I told you about how the State of Colorado's new Red Flag law has officially gone into effect. Residents can now turn people into police, claiming they are "dangerous," to have them disarmed.
The way that red flag laws work, the police don't actually need any evidence to confiscate someone's firearms. Simple allegations are enough.
Less than three days after the new law passed in Colorado, it has now been used for the first time. A 26-year-old man was disarmed by Denver Police on suspicion of "domestic violence" and "suicidal thoughts."
But here is the real kicker: The prosecutor is declining to file domestic violence charges against the man. After looking at the evidence the police collected, the prosecutors are not convinced that a crime was ever committed. However, Police are using the state's Red Flag law to confiscate his firearms anyway... Even though he has not been charged with a crime.
The man has now requested a hearing. He will have to wait 14 days and then, he will get a chance to argue before a judge that he deserves his guns back. Even though he is legally innocent and has not even been charged with a crime (the DA has declined to pursue charges), he is now presumed guilty. If a judge doesn't agree that he deserves his firearms back, then the confiscation order can be extended out to a year before the disarmed gun owner gets another chance to plead their innocence.
Republicans now want to take this law and make it a nationwide program. You must stop them!
Our justice system is built on the concept that all Americans are "innocent until proven guilty." But as we see in Colorado and other states that have already passed red flag laws, they are flipping that concept upside-down.
Under red flag laws, gun owners are presumed guilty until proven innocent. Instead of prosecutors having to prove that someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the burden is placed on gun owners.
Innocent people are being disarmed. And as we saw in this case, the reason that the police used to disarm this man is an alleged crime that prosecutors are now refusing to even prosecute because of a lack of evidence. It is complete madness.
The GOP thinks they have struck gold with this disarmament plan. They think that they can push this through as a "compromise" that can please the gun control left without turning their conservative base against them.
Let me say that again: The GOP thinks they can pass the biggest disarmament bill ever without angering conservatives.
You have a duty to prove them wrong!
The bill that the Republican leadership is now pushing is the Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act. Written by Marco Rubio, this bill would create nationwide disarmament programs, allowing police around the country to disarm innocent Americans without even needing to ever charge them with a crime.
And that is the key point here. Police already have the power to confiscate guns from criminals. All it takes is charging them with a crime. Once someone is indicted, the court has the power to temporarily confiscate a defendant's firearms.
But Democrats have always wanted to be able to disarm innocent people. This bill would let them do it.
By giving the government the power to disarm someone without even needing to accuse them of a crime, the Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act would turn the right to keep and bear arms into a privilege that can be revoked at any time.
We are seeing how police are abusing these powers in states like Colorado and Florida. We CANNOT allow the GOP to stab gun owners in the back and make this a nationwide law!
Kill the Bill!
Joe Otto
Conservative Daily
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