Anti-2A politicians keep trying to steal Americans’ gun rights. Over and over and over again, they keep trying to infringe even further on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding everyday Americans.
Fortunately, there are a few people working in government who are willing to do the right thing and to work to prevent anti-2A zealots from trampling our rights.
Now, you may recall how the U.S. Supreme Court threw out New York State’s law which, for all intents and purposes, prevented nearly everyone in that state from being able to legally carry their legally-owned firearm. It was an appalling law that that needed to be turned over because of its extreme government overreach into plainly illegal territory. In other words, the U.S. Supreme Court made the right decision.
But that wasn’t the only terrible gun control law that the State of New York already had on its books. That state also had red flag laws on the books which, as we’ve discussed before, are ripe for abuse.
That’s no longer the case, though. Zachary Stieber writes,
The New York law that enables the confiscation of guns from people who haven’t committed a crime is unconstitutional, a state Supreme Court judge has ruled.
This red flag law, or the Extreme Risk Protection Order law, lets individuals—including police officers—petition a court to allow the seizure of firearms from a person they believe poses a threat to themselves or others.
If a judge agrees, the judge can direct law enforcement to take guns from the person in question.
The law, which took effect in 2019, has led to the issuance of more than 1,900 removal orders.
However, the law is in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Second and 14th amendments because it doesn’t “sufficiently protect a citizen’s rights,” state Supreme Court Judge Thomas Moran said in a ruling in late December 2022.
This is a big win for the people of New York who shouldn’t have to be concerned about a busybody neighbor or, in the case of the lady who filed the lawsuit which led to this ruling, ex-boyfriend being vindictive and losing their gun right.
Red flag laws are clearly illegal because they are a violation of the Second, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments by allowing a state to steal someone’s firearms without due process or even being convicted of any crime.
This was the right decision from the court, and let’s hope that we continue to see more of these 2A wins.