Democrats advanced a new measure this week to encourage states to pass “red flag” laws. These so-called extreme risk protection orders authorize removing guns and ammunition from individuals deemed as dangerous by some anonymous, unaccountable person, but it would not include the ready-made lists of gang members.
Republicans tried to add an amendment including known gang members, but the Democrats will not permit the inclusion of gang databases. It’s odd since gangs are the ones causing most of the so-called gun violence.
They would agree to include the names of white supremacists, but not other terror groups.
The House Judiciary rejected any effort by Republicans to include gang databases since they are worried about people mistakenly taken for a gang member. They brought up the ‘no-fly, no-buy’ list which was filled with inaccuracies, but Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, who hoped to amend the measure to include gang databases, reminded the Democrats the restrictions for placing someone on a gang database are much tougher than the no-fly list.
“This is a situation where the police officers are trained, and there are very identifiable signs, and it isn’t just one sign,” Buck told Chair Jerrold Nadler.
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, of California, offered to support the amendment if Buck agreed to include those listed “individuals affiliated with white nationalism.”
Buck agreed, but said the language should include “any type of supremacy.”
“Let’s add Costa Nostra to this,” Buck added.
-
The Importance of Prayer: How a Christian Gold Company Stands Out by Defending Americans’ Retirement
Democrats were uninterested and the amendment ultimately failed.
Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia called out Democrats for their hypocrisy, reminding the committee of a ‘sit-in’ on the House floor during which the GOP majority in 2016 could not conduct business until they passed, ‘no-fly, no-buy” to prevent people on the no-fly list from purchasing guns.
“It’s amazing to me,” Collins said. “We had a large blow-up on the floor of this House just a couple years ago about the No-Fly, No-Buy list, which was shown to have issues, but at that point, nobody from the other side brought this as a concern, and now we are bringing it as a concern,” Collins said.
“If we can’t bring this list up, even with the due process put in, then don’t ever bring the No-Fly, No-Buy list up again.”
“Don’t ever bring it up again because there is no due process on that list.”
IT’S MORE THAN HYPOCRITICAL, IT’S A VIOLATION OF OUR CIVIL RIGHTS
It’s more than hypocrisy, it’s the furtherance of a two-tiered justice system with only one party getting what they want.
The real irony here is that they won’t put gang members in the database but these same people aren’t the least bit concerned about reports by anyone about anyone. Joe Blow reports his neighbor, no problem, put him in the database. There is no problem with putting the mentally handicapped in the database as if all of them were a threat.
They also don’t care about due process and have taken the first step towards abolishing it with these laws. They will put in the names of white supremacists but not other terrorists.
Law-abiding citizens can have their rights violated but not gang members or terrorists.
#HR1236 is so flawed that anyone committed to our Constitution can’t seriously consider it. Why my Democrat colleagues are so eager to abandon the bedrock of our constitutional freedoms and due process is beyond me. pic.twitter.com/l1JnIhbYzz
— Rep. Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) September 10, 2019
Subscribe to the Daily Newsletter