GOP Tossing 2nd Amendment In Favor of ‘Red Flag’ Gun Control Laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. – It is not surprising in the least that Democrats have taken advantage of the tragic mass shootings in Texas and Ohio to push their gun control agenda. What is more notable, however, is the congressional GOP’s apparent appetite for gun control laws marked by their sponsoring of ‘red flag’ legislation and President Trump expressing support for such a bill.

While no politician’s scorecard would be perfect in the eyes of a single voter, their are certain principles that are supposed to form the bedrock a party stands on. It should be made known by those opposed to the gun control push that abandoning the protections inherent in the Second Amendment in the immediate, emotional wake of a pair of mass shootings is not what the Republican base is looking for.

Senator Thom Tillis (RINO-NC), of course, is in full support of ‘bipartisan’ gun control legislation, and will do whatever it takes to pass the bills through his judiciary committee. Tillis is in a rush to pass gun control, too, promising to stack up a committee and get a bill on the floor “as soon as possible” so as not to let a crisis go to waste, as they say.

“We’ve got to get members of both chambers on board. I’ve said to Sen. Graham I will do what I can to support and will support moving it out of the Judiciary Committee. We’ll have to stack up a committee hearing and move it onto the floor as soon as possible. If we have consensus before then I think we will agree to come and get it done.”

In the aftermath of theses shootings, with politics turned up to 11 on the ramp to 2020, Republican lawmakers maybe losing sight of the core American ideas that in large part fueled the 2016 shakeup. Giving up the Second Amendment was certainly not on that list, and making anyone subject to the confiscation of their firearms, without sufficient due process and at real risk of abuse, sounds an awful lot like giving up on yet another ‘unalienable right.’

From LATIMES:

“[…] a bipartisan proposal by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is gaining momentum following weekend mass shootings in Texas and Ohio that left 31 people dead. The emerging plan would create a federal grant program to encourage states to adopt “red flag” laws to take guns away from people believed to be dangers to themselves or others.

A similar bill never came up for a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate last year, but both parties express hope that this year will be different. President Trump has signaled support for the plan.

“We must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do not have access to firearms and that if they do those firearms can be taken through rapid due process,” Trump said in a White House speech on Monday. […]”

‘Rapid due process’ seems like a rather slippery slope to rest one of our founding rights on. The Red Flag laws, variations of which have been adopted by 17 states, actually violate a series of precepts laid out in the Bill of Rights and have been opposed by conservatives consistently for that reason.

‘Shall not be infringed’ is supposed to mean something, after all.

The Swamp, filled with creatures, is obviously susceptible to national political opportunism like post-shooting gun control pushes, but what about state legislatures? Most of those 17 states with red flag laws on their books passed those laws since the Parkland shooting in February of 2018.

North Carolina Democrats, too, are joining the chorus in calling for gun control bills. Will North Carolina Republican state lawmakers be as flexible on the Second Amendment as their congressional counterparts?

From Charlotte Observer:

“North Carolina’s legislature hasn’t passed gun control legislation since 2015. But in the wake of this weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, pressure is building to change that.

Several bills changing gun policy have stalled in committee, and on Monday Gov. Roy Cooper and four House Democrats urged pulling two of them out for debate.

House Bill 86 would restrict who can obtain firearms. Currently, North Carolina requires either a concealed-carry permit or a sheriff-issued pistol purchase permit to buy a handgun, but long guns including assault-style rifles can be bought with only a state I.D. and a background check at the counter.

Under HB86, long guns like rifles would also require a permit, and there would be a 72-hour waiting period before the buyer could take the gun home. […]”

A permit for every long gun; a three-day minimum wait; a ban high-capacity magazines; mandated purchase of firearm liability insurance; reduction in the recognition of concealed-carry permits issued by other states; and a ban on trigger cranks and bump stocks.

“No one needs a high-capacity magazine,” said Becky Ceartas, executive director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, which supports the bill.

No one “needs” high capacity magazines or assault style weapons, is a common refrain from those pushing more control, but how that need is established is never addressed. What if 50 percent plus one decide you don’t ‘need’ some of your other rights?

This is why we have documents like the Bill of Rights to show us where the final lines in the sand are drawn. Unfortunately, those lines have been breached time and again, and usually for some similar event-driven, ‘feel good’ legislation that doesn’t actually address the problem.

N.C. House Democrats hope to get six Republicans and cooperation from leadership to advance gun control bills in concert with efforts on Capitol Hill. If Republican lawmakers in Raleigh and D.C. don’t catch hell from their base to warn them away from supporting such unconstitutional legislation the press, Leftists, and simple momentum could strip away more of our gun rights before Christmas.