Virginia Democrat lawmakers are pushing ahead with Red Flag Law legislation just days after thousands of gun owners rallied for the Second Amendment.
The Virginia Shooting Sports Association reports the Virginia Senate passed such legislation by a vote of 21 to 19.
It did not garner any Republican support.
The Virginia Mercury reports the Red Flag legislation is like similar legislation throughout the country, in that it allows court orders to be issued to prevent certain people from buying or possessing guns. These orders allow the confiscation of guns the owner might currently possess.
A last minute change in the legislation calls for police to first serve a court order notifying a person they have to relinquish their firearms. If said person refuses, the police then have to go back to the court and return with a search warrant. If the person still refuses to relinquish their firearms, the face arrest for violating the court order.
State Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) praised the change, claiming it provides a way “de-escalate” situations by preventing police from showing up to take guns unannounced.
But Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Stafford) saw it otherwise, saying, “We’re going to make them a criminal and say you violated a judge’s order in order to go back and execute a search warrant. We’ve actually made it worse I think.”
The Virginia House is considering a different version of Red Flag legislation which would allow police to enter the home on their first visit to locate firearms. Democrats will now try to reconcile the two versions and emerge with one bill.
The NRA sent Breitbart News a comment on the Red Flag legislation passed by the Virginia Senate, saying, “The red flag bill that passed out of the Virginia Senate fails to address mental health concerns for individuals and falls far short on due process. This red flag legislation also creates numerous false flag opportunities for law enforcement.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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