Hideous red flag laws used against hundreds of law-abiding citizens in VA.

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.

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.

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…

Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, told The Center Square that these laws are contrary to due process protections.

“Red Flag gun confiscation orders turn our legal system on its head,” Pratt said. “For centuries, the standard has been ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ But Red Flag laws reverse that standard into ‘guilty until proven innocent,’ because they throw real Due Process out the window – revoking someone’s 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 – and the guns which are erroneously confiscated can take up to nine months to return. These laws have even been used to disarm women – such as the case in California where a cheating husband used the state’s red flag law to disarm his wife, who was a concealed carrier.”

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…

https://www.gunowners.org/hundreds-of-virginians-have-had-firearms-confiscated-through-red-flag-laws/https://www.gunowners.org/hundreds-of-virginians-have-had-firearms-confiscated-through-red-flag-laws/

This must stop, obviously.

All it takes is a disgruntled neighbor or someone with a grudge to move to confiscate a citizen's gun/s and abrogate the owner's rights.

What we need are laws preventing and punishing acts that erode Constitutional rights.

If red flag laws have an effect at all, it's opposite the purported intent. In 2021,

Virginia saw 562 homicides reported for the year, up 6.4% from the 528 reported in 2020.

Police in Richmond reported the highest total number of murder and non-negligent manslaughter offenses, 90,  followed by 63 in Norfolk, 36 in Portsmouth, 29 in Newport News and 27 in Hampton.

A vast majority of homicides, more than 82%, involved a gun.

The only way these liars can demonstrate reduced gun violence due to gun confiscation of citizens' firearms is to lie, literally the stamp of approval for government dictatorship.
https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/4-takeaways-from-virginias-2021-crime-stats/

They want your guns in pursuit of their own political agendas.

I love Texas.

All excellent points, @Lummy !

Crusader wrote:I love Texas.

It doesn't take much to change a state's political climate.

Virginia was once a conservative state. Colorado, 25 years ago, was conservative.

Texas remains so; but I see the signs. Houston and Dallas and especially Austin, are all turning Leftist, at a very rapid pace. The California influx, and the increasing control that academics are exercising over state government.

one prob Lummy. youre not stating which judges are doing this. VA has a long standing history of stripping one of their clothing, then tarring them. judges are not immune.

Casey Jones wrote:

Crusader wrote:I love Texas.

It doesn't take much to change a state's political climate.

Virginia was once a conservative state.  Colorado, 25 years ago, was conservative.

Texas remains so; but I see the signs.  Houston and Dallas and especially Austin, are all turning Leftist, at a very rapid pace.  The California influx, and the increasing control that academics are exercising over state government.

perhaps it is a sign they are maturing and becoming more intelligent, richer?