House Democrats, in their relentless quest to make it harder for Americans to own firearms, managed to sneak a red flag provision into the latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill passed last week and heads to the Senate.
Carrier Weapon Cam Edwards explained:
The Democrats’ version of the military red flag law closely resembles the civilian version in more than a dozen states. Without being charged or charged with a crime, a soldier can have his firearms taken away by a military court, and a person subject to a red flag order won’t even have a chance to present evidence in his case for up to 30 days after the court issues the order.
Edwards noted that the legislation was “fundamentally flawed.” He wrote:
As with red flag laws in states from California to Connecticut, if a judge finds (through a lower standard of review than that applied in criminal proceedings) a person to be a danger to themselves or others, an order to seize weapons has no actual mental health component. A supposedly unsafe person can be left with knives, pills, poison, gasoline, matches, and any other weapon they could operate to end their own life or the lives of others, provided that any legally owned guns are seized.
Edwards also noted that every state and military already have “compulsory surrender laws.”
But what’s notable about the passage of this law is that 135 Republican lawmakers voted for it. Gun Owners of America (GOA), a gun rights group, addressed some of the excuses these members of Congress used to justify their “yes” vote. They wrote on Twitter:
Some House RINOs who supported red flag laws in the #NDAA on Thursday are falsely claiming the bill does not actually contain military gun confiscation orders.
Maybe they didn’t read the bill, but we did.
Let’s not forget that many pro-gun Republicans voted against #NDAA (HR 4350) because it contained red flag provisions.
Once again, thank you to our Second Amendment warriors. @RepBoebert, @chiproytx, @RepCloudTX, @RepBobGood AND @RepDanBishop.
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) September 25, 2021
This isn’t the first time anti-gun Democrats have tried to hide a red flag provision in the NDAA. They did the same last year.
Below is a list of all Republican members of Congress who voted for the NDAA under the red flag provision:
Rick W. Allen – Georgia
Mark E. Amodei – Nevada
Don Bacon – Nebraska
James R. Baird – Indiana
Troy Balderson-Ohio
Jim Banks-Indiana
Andy Barr-Kentucky
Cliff Bentz – Oregon
Jack Bergman-Michigan
Stephanie I. Bice – Oklahoma
Gus M. Bilirakis – Florida
Mike Bost-Illinois
Kevin Brady – Texas
Vern Buchanan – Florida
Larry Bucshon – Indiana
Ken Calvert – California
Kat Cammack – Florida
Jerry L. Carl – Alabama
Earl L. “Buddy” Carter – Georgia
John R. Carter – Texas
Madison Cawthorn – North Carolina
Liz Cheney – Wyoming
Tom Cole-Oklahoma
Eric A. “Rick” Crawford – Arkansas
Dan Crenshaw – Texas
Rodney Davis-Illinois
Scott DesJarlais – Tennessee
Mario Diaz-Balart – Florida
Neal P. Dunn – Florida
Jake Ellzey – Texas
Pat Fallon – Texas
Randy Feenstra-Iowa
Drew Ferguson IV – Georgia
Scott Fitzgerald – Wisconsin
Brian K. Fitzpatrick – Pennsylvania
Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann – Tennessee
Virginia Foxx – North Carolina
Scott Franklin – Florida
Matt Gaetz – Florida
Mike Gallagher-Wisconsin
Andrew R. Garbarino – New York
Bob Gibbs-Ohio
Carlos A. Gimenez – Florida
Tony Gonzales – Texas
Anthony Gonzalez-Ohio
Kay Granger – Texas
Garret Graves – Louisiana
Sam Graves-Missouri
Mark E. Green – Tennessee
Brett Guthrie-Kentucky
Diana Harshbarger – Tennessee
Vicky Hartzler – Missouri
Jaime Herrera Beutler – Washington
French Hill – Arkansas
Ashley Hinson-Iowa
Trey Hollingsworth – Indiana
Richard Hudson – North Carolina
Darrell Issa – California
Ronny Jackson – Texas
Chris Jacobs – New York
Mike Johnson – Louisiana
Bill Johnson-Ohio
Dusty Johnson – South Dakota
David P. Joyce-Ohio
John Joyce – Pennsylvania
John Katko – New York
Fred Keller – Pennsylvania
Trent Kelly – Mississippi
Mike Kelly – Pennsylvania
Young Kim – California
Adam Kinzinger – Illinois
David Kustoff – Tennessee
Darin LaHood-Illinois
Doug Lamborghini – Colorado
Robert E. Latta-Ohio
Jake LaTurner-Kansas
Julia Letlow – Louisiana
Billy Long-Missouri
Frank D. Lucas – Oklahoma
Blaine Luetkemeyer – Missouri
Nancy Mace – South Carolina
Nicole Malliotakis – New York
Tracey Mann-Kansas
Kevin McCarthy – California
Michael T. McCaul – Texas
Lisa C. McClain – Michigan
Patrick T. McHenry – North Carolina
David B. McKinley – West Virginia
Peter Meijer – Michigan
Daniel Meuser – Pennsylvania
Carol D. Miller – West Virginia
Mariannette Miller-Meeks – Iowa
John R. Moolenaar – Michigan
Blake D. Moore-Utah
Gregory F. Murphy – North Carolina
Dan Newhouse – Washington
Devin Nunes – California
Jay Obernolte – California
Greg Pence-Indiana
August Pfluger – Texas
Tom Reed – New York
Guy Reschenthaler – Pennsylvania
Cathy McMorris Rodgers – Washington
Harold Rogers-Kentucky
David Rouzer – North Carolina
Maria Elvira Salazar – Florida
Steve Scalise – Louisiana
Austin Scott – Georgia
Michael K. Simpson – Idaho
Adrian Smith-Nebraska
Christopher H. Smith – New York
Victoria Spartz – Indiana
Pete Stauber-Minnesota
Michelle Steele – California
Elise M. Stefanik – New York
Bryan Steil-Wisconsin
Claudia Tenney – New York
Glenn Thompson – Pennsylvania
Michael R. Turner-Ohio
Fred Upton-Michigan
David G. Valadao – California
Jefferson Van Drew – New Jersey
Beth Van Duyne – Texas
Ann Wagner-Missouri
Tim Walberg-Michigan
Jackie Walorski – Indiana
Michael Waltz – Florida
Brad R. Wenstrup – Ohio
Bruce Westerman-Arkansas
Joe Wilson – South Carolina
Robert J. Wittman – Virginia
Steve Womack – Arkansas
Don Young-Alaska
It’s not yet clear whether the red flag provision will survive the Senate. While GOP lawmakers in the House may feel they can get away with supporting the legislation, Senate Republicans may not be willing to take that risk — given the Democrats’ slim majority in the upper chamber. And there may be some Democrats who oppose the bill for a variety of reasons.
Either way, it’s crucial to keep an eye on this particular proposal. If Democrats get their way, it could set a precedent that makes it easier for them to pass federal red flag laws across the rest of the country.
