“What red flag laws do, particularly when dealing with school-age kids, is potentially punish law-abiding citizens for the fears of another person. The student in question in the example above wasn’t old enough to own firearms on his own. How would a red flag law keep him disarmed when he couldn’t lawfully buy a gun in the first place?”
We’ve spilled a lot of digital ink over red flag laws in the last couple of years, and for good reason. They’re the kind of law that looks reasonable if you aren’t careful enough to recognize the problem. After all, few are comfortable with the idea of troubled people having guns.
In the aftermath of Parkland, a lot of people–myself included–asked how the shooter could buy a gun legally when there were so many red flags. In response, red flag laws were pushed by many as the answer.
Yet there are problems. Red flags take away due process for many Americans who end up stripped of their Second Amendment rights yet have done nothing wrong. Perhaps worse than that, though, is the fact that it’s not needed.
by Tom Knighton
