Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed legislation Tuesday to outlaw enforcement of red flag laws in the state of Oklahoma.
The Tulsa World reports that Stitt’s action also “prohibits the state from accepting any federal money to [issue such red flag orders].”
Oklahoma Second Amendment Association’s Don Spencer said the bill prohibiting red flag laws was necessary to ensure citizens’ “due process” rights were protected:
It is needed because the due process has been ignored in taking firearms from otherwise lawful people. All it takes is a mad neighbor or an upset relative to make a claim against a person and have their firearms taken away from them without any … due process.
KSWO reports that the anti-red flag legislation was cosponsored by state Rep. Jay Steagall (R), who made clear he wanted to be sure his state did not follow the path other states have taken via red flag laws.
Steagall said, “We’ve seen 17 other states enact some sort of red flag law, whether it was at the state level, county level or municipality level that obviously dealt with infringing on due process,”
Stephens County Sheriff Wayne McKinney noted that there are already “protective orders” that allow guns to be taken in the event that a person proves to be a a danger to another, thus red flag laws are not a necessity.
McKinney suggested red flag laws create problems by giving people with grievances against someone else the opportunity to have the other person’s guns seized. He said, “[What] I do have an issue with, is ‘I dont like you Kyle, and you have guns and I don’t like you so I’ll say this about you,’ then they come and try to take your weapon.”
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.