California’s New Red Flag Law Is So Extreme, Even the ACLU Is Ringing the Alarm
October 16, 2019 in News by RBN Staff
WesternJournal
By Jared Harris
California now has the widest-reaching red flag rules in the country thanks to a bill signed into law by that state’s governor on Friday.
But the tyrannical move has caused one surprising group to step forward in protest.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom made California even less gun-friendly than it already is by signing a bill that allows co-workers, teachers and employers to file complaints that could potentially allow courts to disarm law-abiding citizens.
Assembly Bill 61 was one of 15 pieces of anti-gun legislation signed into law by Newsom on Friday, The Associated Press reported.
Even Newsom’s predecessor, former California Gov. Jerry Brown, thought this bill and its wording were unneeded, since the state already had similar red flag measures in place, according to a statement from his office.
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Brown, an indisputably liberal politician, vetoed the bill twice.
The new law was quickly decried by gun rights groups, who must feel like they are fighting an uphill battle in California.
Surprisingly, though, the American Civil Liberties Union also weighed in on the new red flag law.
The ACLU, often known for its liberal stances on social issues, said the law “poses a significant threat to civil liberties” because those affected by it might not be able to dispute restraining order requests before the state takes action.
Some of the people who can flag gun owners under the new law “lack the relationship or skills required to make an appropriate assessment,” the ACLU said, according to AP.
Red flag laws are a constant target of criticism from gun owners and others who see the inherent problems with this sort of legislation.
Although checks to ensure bad actors don’t have access to guns need to exist, red flag laws often put that power in the hands of unaccountable people.
Anything from a workplace dispute to an offensive comment can spark a retaliatory report filed against the perceived offender. With little chance to speak for themselves, the victim is often stripped of their legally obtained firearms and forced to go through the bureaucracy to get them back.
Reports of everyday Americans being “red flagged” over satirical memes they post to social media are becoming increasingly common.
This shocking potential abuse of the law didn’t seem to be a problem for Newsom, who also signed other restrictive laws as part of what appears to be an all-out assault on the Second Amendment.
Along with living with the fear of expanded red flag laws, residents of California can now only buy a single semi-automatic centerfire rifle every 30 days.
Residents under the age of 21 will no longer be able to purchase one at all.
An additional regulation approved by the governor will limit how many firearms a non-licensed individual can sell each year.
For gun enthusiasts in California, this shouldn’t come as a shock. The writing on the wall has been there for a while, and pretty soon gun “rights” in the state will be a mockery of what our Founding Fathers intended.
Although there will likely never be one single ban that makes all firearms in the state illegal, it now looks like the rights of gun owners in California will suffer death by a thousand cuts.
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