New York Court Nukes Democrats' Red Flag Laws, Includes Biting Message

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

The left’s workaround for the Second Amendment, known as “Red Flag Laws,” has been the latest trend in gun confiscation from the authoritarian left. The idea is that anyone can report a citizen for suspicious activity or being a danger to themselves or others, and authorities will arrive at the home and take their firearms. In order to get them back, the accused must go to court and prove they aren’t a danger.

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It’s the “guilty until proven innocent” world Democrats have always wanted.

But this approach always has a myriad of hurdles for Democrats. While many a politician with a “D” next to their name would implement these rules in a second, the left is having to deal with pesky things such as uncooperative law enforcement and a document called the “Constitution.”

New York is naturally one of those places that wanted to push Red Flag Laws on the populace. Monroe County Supreme Court in New York recently handed down a ruling that not only put a stop to that scheme, but the Justice who wrote the opinion wanted New York’s politicians to understand in no uncertain terms that this kind of anti-2A nonsense isn’t going to fly. (It should be noted that in New York, the “Supreme Court” is their trial court level, with the Court of Appeals being the State’s highest court.)

Justice Thomas E. Moran wrote of the case that CPLR-§63, New York’s Red Flag Law, doesn’t “sufficiently protect a citizen’s rights and therefore is unconstitutional.”

While the opinion is dressed in legalese and precedents that collapse New York’s anti-2A attempt, the slap on the wrist comes near the end where Moran makes it crystal clear that the right to bear arms will not be infringed.

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This Court is not unmindful of the dangers firearms may pose when possessed in the hands of a person suffering a mental illness, harboring a criminal intent, or both. However, when viewed objectively, CPLR §63-a’s goal of removing weapons from the otherwise lawful possession of them by their owners, without adequate constitutional safeguards, cannot be [*8]condoned by this Court.

While some may advocate that “the ends justify the means” in support of §63-a, where those means violate a fundamental right under our Bill of Rights to achieve their ends, then the law, on it’s face, cannot stand.

Therefore, the “Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order” (TERPO) and “Extreme Risk Protection Order” (ERPO) are deemed to be unconstitutional by this Court as CPLR Article 63-a is presently drafted. It can not be stated clearly enough that the Second Amendment is not a second class right, nor should it ever be treated as such.

The final line should be the killing blow for any red flag laws across the nation.

“It can not be stated clearly enough that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right, nor should it ever be treated as such” summarizes it all perfectly.

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No matter what trend the Democrats try to enact on the public, their blind hatred of the Second Amendment does not make the right any less of a right. They may look down on the idea of the common man being armed, but it’s the common man’s right to bear arms, and it was recognized as a God-given right because having access to a firearm is integral to his freedom.

If we are to live in a free society, then the common man must be able to make sure it stays that way.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated for clarity regarding the New York court system.

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