Justice Department issues guidance to make it easier for states to pass red flag gun laws

By Allan Evans

The Department of Justice issued new guidance Monday for states to draft red flag laws that would permit courts to seize firearms in certain cases.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its proposed guidance for states seeking to craft their own red flag statutes, publishing model legislation to use as a framework. Red flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders, authorize courts to remove firearms from individuals at risk of harming themselves or others.

The DOJ also clarified certain regulations governing short-barreled rifles which, under the National Firearms Act, are subject to heightened regulation as they are easily concealable, according to the announcement. The suggested clarification would specify exactly when a pistol becomes a short-barreled rifle.

“The Justice Department is determined to take concrete steps to reduce the tragic toll of gun violence in our communities,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “We welcome the opportunity to work with communities in the weeks and months ahead in our shared commitment to end gun violence.”

The DOJ’s proposed red flag law guidelines allow immediate family members and police to ask a court to issue an immediate restraining order, which would temporarily prevent individuals at-risk of harming themselves or others from obtaining a firearm. Courts would also be permitted to hold hearings which would decide whether or not to ban individuals from accessing firearms for much longer periods if certain state-level standards are met.

The announcement follows executive actions passed by President Joe Biden in April aimed at regulating ghost-guns, or self-assembled firearms, and redesignating pistols with stabilizing braces, as short barrel rifles, affirming the administration’s commitment to gun control.

Moreover, David Chipman, Biden’s nominee for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), has routinely voiced support for wide-ranging firearms restrictions, vowing to ban any rifle with a detachable magazine and chambering larger than .22-caliber. Chipman previously worked as a policy adviser for gun control organization Giffords.

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6 thoughts on “Justice Department issues guidance to make it easier for states to pass red flag gun laws

  1. They might try to ban the sale of rifles that have detachable magazines but I’d like to see them try to confiscate the rifles already in the owners collection. Who will they convince to go to an owners house and perform the confiscation, the national guard maybe and how many of them would follow through.
    “The British are coming, the British are coming”

  2. The Just-Us department needs to be shut down then burned to the ground. First off the biggest weapon used in assault and murder is the knife NOT THE GUN…
    2nd they are promoting restrictions which the Constitution’s 2nd amendment of INALIENABLE RIGHTS. After the flames flicker out there we freedom loving citizens should move on to the other alphabets and likewise burn them to the ground..FIB, CIA, Dept of ED etc…. all of them have become cesspools of the swamp.

  3. When will they start seizing vehicles from those with multiple DUI’s?

    Theft of private property, even when ordered by a court, with no charges against the owner, is unconstitutional.

    Guilty until proven innocent doesn’t work for me.

    • 1. They could start with a Universal Background Check to see if you’re a drunk before you can buy a motor vehicle.

      2. No motor vehicles over 350 Horse Power

      3. No gas tanks that hold more tan 10 gallons

      4. No private sales of motor vehicles

      Shall I go on?

      • Sorry for the spelling, in a hurry this morning as I have to make sure my vaccination papers are in order.

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