The House passed a bill today with almost no Republican votes “to nationalize red flag laws, which seek to keep guns away from individuals deemed a threat to themselves and others,” The Hill reported on Thursday, June 9, 2022 (read story here).
This one seems like a no-brainer; 19 states, including Washington, already have such laws; and the bill is separate from other gun control measures Republicans oppose like raising the age to buy assault weapons from 18 to 21 (their answer: “no”). But only 5 of 208 House Republicans voted for it.
“The red flag bill … would authorize family members and law enforcement officers to petition U.S. district courts … [for] protection orders that would temporarily prohibit individuals from purchasing or possessing firearms,” The Hill said.
They say “the devil is in the details,” so is there something in the bill that explains the tsunami of GOP “no” votes? Let’s take a look:
“The orders can either be short-term, lasting for a maximum of 14 days and issued without a hearing, or long-term, remaining in existence for 180 days and requiring a hearing to be issued. Petitioners must provide evidence that the individual of concern poses an imminent risk to themselves or others by purchasing, possessing or receiving firearms or ammunition. For long-term orders, petitioners must prove that the subject of the measure poses an injury risk to themselves or others through buying, possessing or receiving a firearm or ammunition. … The bill also allocates grant funding to states in an effort to bolster implementation of state extreme risk laws that are already on the books ….”
I don’t see any demons in there, do you? So why the opposition? A GOP House leader memo’d his colleagues that the bill “tramples on Americans’ 2nd Amendment rights.” I guess even suicidal and homicidal maniacs, like the one who shot up a Maryland workplace today, have such rights which Republicans are determined to protect at all costs, and the dead coworkers and school children are just something we have to accept.
But we don’t have to accept that. There’s another alternative: Vote for someone else.