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Hundreds of Virginians have had their guns confiscated from them through red-flag laws since those rules went into effect more than two years ago, according to data in the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center.<\/p>\n
Red-flag laws allow police to seize firearms from a person if a judge deems him or her to be a threat to himself or others, even if that person has not been convicted of a crime, charged with a crime or even accused of a crime. The laws passed the General Assembly when Democrats had control of both chambers and were signed by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. The legislation received staunch opposition from the Republican minority at the time.<\/p>\n
Virginia judges have issued at least 327 emergency substantial risk protection orders, which allow police to temporarily confiscate firearms to address an immediate risk. Judges have issued 257 permanent substantial risk protection orders, which confiscate the guns permanently, unless overturned through the court system. The data runs from July 1, 2020, when the law went into effect, through August 2022. The data does not state how many guns were confiscated from the individuals…<\/p>\n
Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, told The Center Square that these laws are contrary to due process protections.<\/p>\n
\u201cRed Flag gun confiscation orders turn our legal system on its head,\u201d Pratt said. \u201cFor centuries, the standard has been \u2018innocent until proven guilty.\u2019 But Red Flag laws reverse that standard into \u2018guilty until proven innocent,\u2019 because they throw real Due Process out the window \u2013 revoking someone\u2019s Second Amendment rights without a jury trial or right to counsel. Not surprisingly, at least a third of red flag orders are initiated against innocent people \u2013 and the guns which are erroneously confiscated can take up to nine months to return. These laws have even been used to disarm women \u2013 such as the case in California where a cheating husband used the state\u2019s red flag law to disarm his wife, who was a concealed carrier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republicans have introduced legislation to repeal red-flag laws in Virginia, but have been unsuccessful. Although the state now has a Republican governor and a Republican-controlled House of Delegates, the Senate has a Democratic majority…<\/p>\n
Read at America’s Voice News<\/a><\/p>\n