So, what are Red Flag laws? According to CBS, "red flag laws" are those that can give a court the ability to temporarily confiscate guns from people who are deemed mentally unstable. Now, I'm not going to lie: these laws sound like a good idea. Taking guns away from people who are mentally ill until further notice sounds like a good idea to prevent any more gun violence. But there's a reason why I said it SOUNDS good. The truth of the matter is that this would never work for a few reasons. The first being that this is a form of gun control. Taking guns away from someone who could be taken as mentally insane is gun control. If you do some research, and this takes no time to do, gun control does not work. Look at cities like Baltimore or Chicago. They have some of the worst gun violence, yet some of the highest gun control laws. Know why? Because people can easily get guns illegally. In places where gun control isn't implemented, there is less homicides/gun violence. Now, there are those mentally unstable who will disturb the peace of innocent, law-abiding communities. The second reason why this doesn't work is this disarms those of us who abide by the law, and don't go shooting up innocent people. Something that also bothered me was in the CBS article I provided: if you are being placed under the law's watchful eye for potentially having your guns taken, they don't tell you. To remove someone's firearms is done through ex parte, which is "without notice to the person." So you wouldn't even know this possibility is being considered until you are issued an order. That bothers me a lot. The last reason would be this is in violation of our 2nd Amendment rights! "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." This is what our Second Amendment says. The Founding Fathers, in their great wisdom, created this so if the citizens of the country needed to defend themselves against the government or defend themselves from danger, they could. Some people say, "Oh, these people only had shotguns and muskets, they never knew guns would evolve to where they are now!" To that, I say 1) I believe they knew we would advance as a country, because this was the land of freedom and opportunity, and 2) These are the same people who have the First Amendment as the most important, our freedom of speech.
What Republicans don't realize is that the Left can use this to their advantage. Now, I am NOT saying this will happen, but I am not unreasonable. If Donald Trump doesn't win 2020, the United States will no longer be a free nation. Each Democrat running is a radical Leftist, who has already planned on having open borders, stricter gun laws, abortion legal at ANY stage, you get the picture. If Donald Trump or any other establishment Republican pushes for this, the Left will use it to their advantage. Gun control WILL happen. Every citizen would have to follow these strict laws, and as I mentioned earlier, GUN CONTROL NEVER WORKS. Look at what happened in California with the stabbing that resulted in 4 people dead. Timothy McVeigh only used diesel, fuel, and fertilizer to murder 168 people. This was the largest loss of life on American soil until 9/11. It doesn't matter how many weapons you get rid of. Evil will always find a way to harm innocent lives. There's so many instances where someone stopped a bad guy with a gun, yet that almost never gets covered on the news. All I am trying to say is that Republicans need to wake up. These red flag laws would do nothing but give Democrats more power, and also believe they can control us because you guys are too cowardice to argue back. That's why the Left thinks they run the show. The GOP has bowed down, or been too polite, for too long. Donald Trump changed that. He has been on the fence about these red flag laws, but I pray he doesn't go through with it. Not to mention how many followers he'd lose from implementing these laws. Like I said, if a Democrat beats Donald Trump, this nation will be over. I cannot stress this enough. Vote Red to save America.
Republicans should know that guns are not the problem. A gun cannot shoot someone without a person being the trigger. Donald Trump believes mental illness is the reason for mass murders. It isn't. The Left believes guns are the reason for mass murders. It isn't. Arthur Evans of the American Psychological Association explains that the U.S. is only 5% of the world's population, yet about 30% of mass shootings occur here. This means the U.S. cannot have 30% of the world's mental illnesses. It doesn't make any sense. The majority of mass shootings or mass murders that occur is due to someone having evil intentions to a person or a group of people. Now, guns can be used for murder. There's no doubt about that. But MANY murders occur through strangulation, stabbing, etc. Unless there's a few people who have died this way, it doesn't really get reported by major news media. I'm going to give some examples of how Republicans AND The Left are wrong. Ted Bundy killed about 100 women, if not more. John Wayne Gacy killed at least 33 young men. Richard Ramirez tortured and killed 14 people. Jim Jones killed almost 1,000 Americans and Guyanese inhabitants in Jonestown. The terrorists of 9/11 killed almost 3,000 people. Guess what they had in common? None of them used a gun to kill (except Ramirez with some of his victims, but he used other methods too). Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Richard Ramirez strangled their victims, or stabbed them to death. Jonestown was ingesting/injecting cyanide, willingly or unwillingly. 9/11, well, I think that goes without saying. No one was mentally insane, nor used a gun: they were well aware of what they were doing. Either it was pure evil, or their religion (which sometimes call for evil acts against humanity) told them to, NOT mental illness. Just a heads up, before anyone jumps on the bandwagon of "Islamophobic," I wasn't criticizing religion, merely using it to explain my point. Who's to say that mass killings are caused by mental illness or guns? I've provided examples that neither of these opinions are true.
The other thing to mention is that those pushing for these red flag laws are those who are protected by gunmen. Who is advocating for these red flag laws or gun control? People protected by guns. Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Dan Crenshaw, Maxine Waters, or Ben Shapiro are all protected by guns. For those of us who don't have the luxury of having Secret Service, snipers, or police around us 24/7, we need a form of protection other than praying that the police get to you in time. Having a gun, in my opinion, is the best form of protection you can get. As much as I respect our police officers, I would rather take my chances with protecting myself with a gun than waiting for law enforcement to arrive. I would rather die trying to protect myself than wait to die on a false hope someone would save me. Shifting gears, there is something important to know: the definition of mental illness. To simply explain it, a mental illness is a plethora of mental health conditions. Many of which aren't violent. Some of these include anxiety, depression, or eating disorders. Now, there are some mental illnesses that can be violent, like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. But most of these mental illnesses don't lead to violence. The American Psychological Association says that only 1 in 4 people will experience some mental illness, and most of these are non-violent. I struggle with anxiety, and I can guarantee that I am NOT violent. I just wanted to clear the air here, because I think the definition of what mental illness is gets confused by both parties.
Now, I am not unreasonable. I understand there are those who are truly mentally unstable who should not own a gun, due to reasons of hurting themselves or others. The only way I would be alright with red flag laws being implemented is if that person being accused as "mentally ill" is tested by professionals. That's where I could be alright with the red flag laws happening. Also, I would hope that the government would get that individual the help they need (if not receiving already). The issue is that anyone can accuse someone of being mentally ill, and easily fake evidence to law enforcement. If someone accuses me of being mentally ill because I share a picture of Milo Yiannopoulos, law enforcement could take away my arms. Or an ex-girlfriend accusing her ex-boyfriend of being mentally ill because of certain text messages that seem "iffy." There's just too much uncertainty around red flag laws that make me not alright with them. Like I said, the only way I could see myself being alright with these laws is if 1) The individual being accused of mental illness is observation by professionals (i.e. doctors, therapists), and 2) The courts choose people who can be unswayed by political opinions. Unfortunately, from what I've read, what I would like would not be so. Police can get an order to violate your 2nd Amendment rights, and confiscate your arms based on someone else's opinion/view.
To close, I do wish these red flag laws could be prevented. I wish I could go to the movies and not think if I'm going to see a shooter come in. I went to see Hobbs and Shaw (which was awesome) this weekend, and I kept looking at people who came in, and would feel worried that they could be a potential shooter. It's sad we all now have to live in fear. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Every day activities are being ruined by evil people. However, these laws would not work. Evil will ALWAYS find a way to harm innocent people. Removing one weapon won't solve this crisis. To keep myself protected, I want a gun. That's my opinion. A good guy with a gun will always be able to stop a bad guy with a gun. Republicans need to stop pandering to the Left, and fight for our 2nd Amendment rights. That's my take.
Comment what you thought! Remember to keep it friendly. We can civilly agree/disagree. There's no need for harsh exchanges.
Check out these sites:
- https://www.npr.org/2019/08/07/748827083/signs-of-republican-movement-to-support-gun-bills-with-new-restrictions
- https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Houston-Rep-Dan-Crenshaw-irks-both-the-left-and-14287697.php
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-are-red-flag-laws-and-which-states-have-implemented-them/
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment
- https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-man-in-custody-after-stabbing-robbery-rampage-that-killed-4-and-injured-2-police
- https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/oklahoma-city-bombing
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/08/10/mass-shootings-not-caused-mental-illness-experts/1964731001/
- Clicked on a person's name to get information: https://www.biography.com/people/groups/serial-killers
So, there's something I wanted to share from my last discussion, the one about how Republicans can reach the younger voters. Someone commented (and if you're reading this, I am not trying to shame you) that I believe this is the only reason that the GOP cannot reach young voters. I wasn't trying to insinuate that's the only reason. I was just trying to say this is a major reason young voters cannot connect to the GOP. Republicans in office seem to either 1) be out of touch, or 2) not that interested. I just wanted to clear up that I don't think the GOP can't reach young voters JUST because they don't use pop culture. It was more how pop culture could reach younger voters, or make them interested.
