Democrats try to force gun confiscation measure through the House

Several Democratic lawmakers want to require a vote in the House of Representatives on an extreme risk protection order measure, also known as a red flag law.

Georgia Democratic Representative Lucy McBath introduced a discharge petition for the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, a move which would force a vote on common-sense gun violence prevention should 218 lawmakers endorse the petition and circumvent Republican leadership, according to a press release from her office.

Todays announcement marks the next step in our mission to save as many lives as possible, McBath said. Extreme risk protection orders are already saving lives in Republican and Democratic states, allowing law enforcement and family members to intervene before its too late. My bill will expand these protections from coast to coast and give every American another tool to keep their communities safe.

Second Amendment advocates criticize red flag laws because they allow firearms to be confiscated by law enforcement without due process. California Democratic Representative Mike Thompson, who chairs the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, indeed said that the bill would provide law enforcement and concerned families and friends with a tool to disarm someone who poses a danger to themselves or others.

McBath noted that the discharge petition is the fourth such effort on firearms attempted during this Congress: Democrats also submitted petitions for three bills to ban so-called assault weapons and establish more background checks.

The press release added that twenty-one states have already approved red flag laws. South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal sponsored a red flag bill during the previous Congress.

Democrats have advanced efforts to support red flag statutes in recent months: the Justice Department recently announced that their new National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center would provide training to judges, prosecutors, and other authorities responsible for implementing such laws.

Were all going to have to deal with a federal office with a mission to disarm gun owners by confiscating their firearms, National Association for Gun Rights vice president Ryan Flugaur said in a video about the new initiative. He noted that Republican lawmakers who supported the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was passed two years ago after a school shooting in Texas and framed as a compromise on firearm safety, enabled the creation of the program.

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