Voters, however, are not convinced that new red flag laws, or “extreme risk protection orders,” are the way to go. Under these statutes, authorities are given the ability to seize a person’s firearms and block their right to possess them.
The standards of evidence required for such a drastic order are often weak and hazy.
Federal law since 1968 has barred an individual from possessing weapons “who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution.”
A new poll conducted in Tennessee by co/efficient revealed that voters are unconvinced this is the way to reduce violent crime. From May 30-June 1, a sampling of 1,770 likely general election voters found striking results on the issue of gun confiscation through red flag laws.
When shown the effects of red flag laws, the public generally favors rigid enforcement of existing mental health laws and removing those demonstrated to be dangerous from interaction with others.
By the numbers, likely voters preferred enforcing existing measures to protect the public over new red flag laws by a whopping 38%.
Even more telling, a staggering 84% of the voting population supported removing the threatening person from the general public over grabbing firearms without due process.
According to NRA-ILA, the Volunteer State already has powerful civil commitment laws on the books. A threatening individual experiencing a mental health crisis may be detained if they are deemed dangerous by law enforcement authorities, a licensed physician, or psychologist.
This, as was obvious to those polled, is a far more effective solution than merely removing firearms and leaving the threatening person free to use other means to harm another.
According to pollsters, “Tennessee voters dramatically retreat from their soft support of proposed red flag laws and do not see this as a solution to their safety concerns.” Voters are aware that this process only removes firearms and does nothing to ensure a potential victim is not attacked with other implements.
Further, support dissipates when voters are made aware that there are already laws on the books to remove dangerous and threatening individuals from the community.
The poll also showed broad support for recently passed legislation placing armed police officers in Tennessee schools.
In May, a school safety package was enacted that provided $230 million in taxpayer dollars to shore up security at facilities. A full $140 million was to provide for at least one full-time armed school resource officer at each Tennessee public school.
In the latest poll, co/efficient found that 77% of respondents supported this school safety initiative.
Tennessee does have room to improve in providing mental health services. A 2016 study by the Treatment Advocacy Center found the state only ranked 41st out of 50 and the District of Columbia in providing state hospital psychiatric beds. Additional funding for mental health services and access to care would be another good step towards attacking mental health issues.
The issue centers on the circumventing of due process for those who may be merely suggested to have mental issues. This process makes it entirely too simple to attack an individual’s Second Amendment rights.
Consider the wording of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The majority of the justices concurred that laws governing firearms must comply with the history and tradition of statutes related to the Second Amendment.
It is difficult to describe red flag laws, which are a recent phenomenon, as being in line with the “history and tradition” of the nation’s gun regulations.
