The Rio Rancho Observer has finally posted online my red flags law letter. You can read my letter and then, read the first comment comment from a pro-gun guy who posits the tired argument, which did not materialize in fact (or at least rarely) about how the laws will more likely take away guns from law-abiding owners. Tellingly, the commenter makes two attacks against "old aunts" taking a guy's--yes, a guy's--gun away, which shows, statistically, at least, he knows this is a guy's problem. Worse for his argument, the commenter ignores NM's law's requirement that a police officer must swear out the warrant for the rapid due process, not a live-in, roommate, or family member residing in the house, nor does he posit the aunt is even a neighbor.
The commenter attempts to minimizes effects on suicides and fatal domestic violence following the enactment of these laws by blaming Mayor Bloomberg, as if Bloomberg's mere financial (and certainly not sole financial) support for a single pro-gun control group (Everytown for Gun Safety), is all one needs to know. The Indiana and Connecticut laws' effectiveness in reducing suicides is here. There is another study about domestic violence and mass shootings, which also supports the need for a red flag law, and an Ohio domestic violence group shows how guns are used over 70% of the time in fatal domestic violence cases that are reported. I must admit I am having trouble now finding where I saw the fatal domestic violence gun rate decline, and so far, I am seeing no studies on that sub-topic. Also, the commenter is mixing up the decline in the murder rate with the more targeted reasons for the law, which are increasingly and primarily about suicides and domestic violence. As people study the numbers, it is suicides and domestic violence which have increased over time, and which has led to the many states passing these laws since 2018, even though the Parkland, FL massacre was the initial spur.
The fellow ignores the 2nd Amendment analysis in the letter and ignores Trump's own stance following the Parkland, FL massacre. The commenter simply assumes the commenter is correct that this law violates the 2nd Amendment, without dealing with any particular decision, especially Heller.Here is a backgrounder article from CBS News regarding red flag laws. Here is a link to Heller v. DC, and here are links to the police officer suicide and domestic violence rates.
UPDATE March 20, 2020: See how I am now wrong, thanks to a 2016 US Supreme Court per curiam decision, issued about a month after Justice Scalia's death, that effectively overrules an important part of Scalia's Heller v. DC opinion.
UPDATE March 20, 2020: See how I am now wrong, thanks to a 2016 US Supreme Court per curiam decision, issued about a month after Justice Scalia's death, that effectively overrules an important part of Scalia's Heller v. DC opinion.
