The U.S. Department of Justice has rolled out a website that it said will better assist people in using existing so-called “red flag” laws to strip their fellow Americans of their gun rights.
Such laws are common mostly in states with majority Democratic Party control, but on Saturday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the creation of a new “tool” from the federal government by which people can quickly find resources to assist them in disarming people they feel are dangerous.
The DOJ partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions to create the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center.
The online tool offers links to the 21 states and Washington, D.C. that have “red flag” laws on the books.
Justice Department Launches the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center
🔗: https://t.co/xH1deJu4SB pic.twitter.com/zUj0woxwrf
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) March 23, 2024
Visitors can click on states with red flag laws on their books to find resources to help them expedite using the courts to temporarily or permanently have the lawfully owned firearms of another person seized by police.
States with such laws include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
The center “will provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement officials, prosecutors, attorneys, judges, clinicians, victim service and social service providers, community organizations, and behavioral health professionals responsible for implementing laws designed to keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a threat to themselves or others,” the DOJ said in a news release.
Are “red flag” laws a good idea?
Garland claimed in a statement that the new system will save lives.
“The launch of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center will provide our partners across the country with valuable resources to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others.
“The establishment of the Center is the latest example of the Justice Department’s work to use every tool provided by the landmark Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to protect communities from gun violence.”
Numerous House and Senate Republicans disagreed with the creation of the center, likening the DOJ’s new initiative to an unconstitutional gun grab:
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 23, 2024
This didn’t come through Congress. This Administration will do everything in their power to destroy the Constitution and the God given rights of Americans. https://t.co/pHUdL5C1rK
— Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville) March 23, 2024
What the hell is this evil?
A Federal Red Flag center;
We did not authorize this.
Announced, of course, just hours after the omnibus passes. https://t.co/IkuK0aTeV8— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 23, 2024
Merrick Garland just announced a massive Red Flag Operation that the DOJ will be running by using EVERY spy tool the US government has in order to violate American’s Second Amendment!!
This comes right after Johnson fully funded Biden’s weaponized DOJ! https://t.co/tScHgTbcy8
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) March 23, 2024
The Biden DOJ’s plan for a federal Red Flag Center is a direct threat to the Second Amendment and liberty as we know it. They’re going to use it to target law-abiding Americans and veterans.
Members of Congress who voted for the Swamp’s Omnibus this week are responsible for… https://t.co/KxaLkDGxYA
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 24, 2024
Gun confiscation by another name.
This cannot stand.
Our Second Amendment is the law of the land. https://t.co/pYfjt4Nitu
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 23, 2024
Oh, really? https://t.co/Ly8aK7Kw5E
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) March 23, 2024
Biden’s Department of Injustice has no right to unleash its anti gun zealots on law abiding citizens.
Why does Congress continue to fund the very people who are attacking our rights, all while inviting terrorists to invade our southern border!
Shut! It! Down! https://t.co/opwPN02331
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) March 24, 2024
The DOJ’s new resource center said it is important to compile all data concerning red flag laws in one place because such laws vary “within states and across states.”
The White House celebrated the new website in a Saturday statement and said the 29 states in the country “without red flag laws should enact those laws.”
The Biden administration further claimed red flag laws have “been shown to prevent mass shootings and suicides, but the tools made available under these laws are only effective if people are aware of them.”
The DOJ’s new resource center is funded by the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which pushed for expanded background checks and was strongly supported by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.
