On September 10, 2019, Colorado Congressman Ken Buck introduced an amendment to a red flag gun confiscation bill in the House. The amendment was brought forward in the Judiciary Committee.
Buck’s introduction of the amendment took place in the first minute and ten seconds of the video on C-Span. Red flag bills allow law enforcement to confiscate guns from individuals based on allegations that they pose a threat with very little regard to due process.
All that is needed is an accusation and no court appearance or confrontation of witnesses is even required. To restore their rights, the accused has to prove they’re not a danger — a complete reversal of the presumption of innocence.
Buck’s amendment would allow law enforcement agencies, on probable cause of a person being part of a gang, to use red flag laws to disarm gang members.
The Colorado congressman testified that most murders and violent crimes involving firearms are carried out by gang members. As a result, the probable cause standard is much higher than just a mere accusation that someone is expected to be dangerous.
This amendment illustrated the hypocrisy of the Left. The Committee Chairman, Congressman Jerry Nadler, declared that taking guns from a person just because they were on a database would be a violation of due process.
However, Buck’s amendment served a greater purpose. He told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he was always opposed to red flag bills but his amendment was used to point out Democratic hypocrisy. On one hand, Democrats want to take guns from people without criminal records. On the other hand, they want to demand full due process for people who are more likely to have criminal records.
Buck is correct in noting that Democrats want to disarm rural Americans, but not gang members. Legal gun ownership is most concentrated in rural America, whereas most gang activity and illegal usage is concentrated in major urban centers with gun control. Since criminals don’t care about laws, they end up acquiring their firearms on the black market, which is the case in certain cities like Baltimore and Chicago.
In sum, civilian disarmament schemes benefit the criminals at the expense of the law-abiding.
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