I'm Throwing A Red Flag On A New Law

It is not my intention to comment on each of the 200-plus new laws in Illinois starting this week-----but----a few have caught my eye.

Illinois is already not friendly to the second amendment. Our Firearm Owners ID card is just a way to collect more money from gun owners. Even with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation, there is a consistent body count in Chicago.

The latest attempt at potentially threatening our right to bear arms is the “Red Flag” law. The red flag allows family members or police to ask a judge to take guns from a person if they think they’re dangerous. Mind you, this strips the gun owner in question of his/her guns….without being convicted of a crime.

Truly, a slippery slope….and I have to think it will be challenged on a constitutional basis.

One of the reasons given in support of the new law is it will stop suicides. That’s lame. Someone bent on suicide will do so without a gun. This law leaves it up to a judge to determine if a person is too dangerous to hold onto weapons. I have to tell you----this opens a whole can of worms. We can strip someone’s constitutional rights merely based on our belief that they are a threat to themselves and others.

Laws are already in place to revoke a person’s FOID card, which would effectively make their ownership of guns illegal.

I’m not trying to be cavalier about this. I understand we don’t need unstable people toting AK-47s through downtown. But we are putting a great deal of power in the hands of our authorities to determine who is dangerous….and then allowing the state to take away a constitutionally guaranteed right---without a trial.

I think it crosses a line.