GOP Waves The White Flag On Red Flag Laws

Bending the knee to backdoor gun-control

Every tragedy is an opportunity to secure more power for the left, and mass shootings are no different. It can’t just be any mass shooting, however, the narrative stars must align. The tragic attack on an elementary school in Uvalde Texas provided Democrats with exactly the kind of emotional flash point they were looking for. Grieving parents, a devastated community, and recordings of terrified children, all allowed the media and political operatives to drive the narrative of “doing something”. The left flooded the zone with gun-control proposals before the bodies of the dead children had even been removed from the school. Everything from banning all semiautomatic weapons to limiting magazine capacity was suggested, but the proposal that seems to have gained traction, even among many GOP members, is the idea of “red flag” laws. 

Red flag legislation seems simple enough. It grants courts and law enforcement the ability to seize the firearms of individuals who exhibit concerning behavior. No one wants people who are obviously mentally ill or declaring their violent intentions to be running around with a gun, so why not simply take them before the tragedy occurs? The devil is, as always with these types of precrime proposals, in the details. When you create an emergency system that circumvents due process, you place incredible power in the hands of those who decide when that exception to the rule of law can be exercised.

The United States is currently going through a fundamental shift in the way it applies the rule of law. Those who tried to attend church services during the Covid lockdown of 2020 could be arrested, but those that looted and burned American cities during the BLM riots were cheered on by the media and left-wing politicians. Liberal district attorneys refused to prosecute theft and other property crime, cutting ludicrous deals for violent offenders, while the FBI threatened parents who voice their disagreement at school board meetings. The media has worked with the federal government to basically memory-hole the attempted assassination of a Supreme Court justice by a left-wing terrorist and regular attacks on crisis pregnancy counseling centers in the wake of a leaked draft from the court that might overturn Roe v. Wade. All while declaring Trump voters the greatest domestic terror threat facing the country. The overwhelming evidence points to a disturbing truth; the application of law in the United States is now entirely a function of political affiliation. 

The real intention behind “red flag’ laws is already clear. They are functionally a repeal of the second amendment designed to disarm the political opponents of the regime, and those in power are happy to tell their supporters exactly that when they think you aren’t listening. 

If the government passes red flag laws any disagreement with the ruling ideology will be a red flag. If you don’t affirm the gender the state-appointed educator assigned your 7-year-old that will constitute “concerning behavior”. If you refuse to get the fourth booster of an experimental vaccine with serious side effects that does not seem to stop the virus it was designed to fight, that will be a red flag. If you are a church member, an NRA member, or have a history of voting for the wrong party, these could all be seen as contributing factors justifying an emergency confiscation. 

The managerial elite that operates the machinery of the state for the left rule through what Curtis Yarvin called the manipulation of procedural outcomes. Construct what sounds like a rational and neutral process and then define the terms to your advantage. Staff each position with people who will decide in your favor at every step. Make no mistake, once a reliable mechanism to circumvent due process for the purpose of disarming the left’s political opponents has been established, that is exactly how it will be used.

Many look at the Uvalde shooting and think the lesson to learn is that the state needs additional tools to keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally unstable. Ten Republican senators have crossed the aisle to support “red flag” legislation on exactly those grounds. But the events that unfolded on the day of the shooting teach a far different lesson. As children were being shot inside the elementary school, a large number of police officers who had arrived on the scene did nothing to save those students. Actually, it’s much worse. Not only did they not attempt to stop the active shooter, but they also detained and arrested parents who attempted to save the lives of their children. It was an off-duty border patrol agent who used a shotgun he borrowed from his barber that put an end to the carnage. He did so despite the objections of the officers on the scene.

At a time when law enforcement has become increasingly politicized, and many police officers seem unwilling or unable to protect the very people they have sworn to defend, Republicans are looking to hand the left more ways to disarm law-abiding citizens. The reason is simple. The GOP isn’t just unwilling to tackle the dangerous precedent the Democrats are setting with their televised primetime show trials or their selective prosecution of political opponents, they are complicit in it. The Republicans exist to manage their voters, not to represent them, and unarmed subjects are far more dependent on the system the GOP is helping to make a reality.