Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Tuesday posted a video of her asking Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) about any potential so-called red flag legislation and his commitment to due process.
Red flag laws permit a judge to temporarily seize a person’s guns without a trial, based on a written complaint that the person in question might be a danger to themselves or others. Critics have argued such legislation eliminates due process protections, while proponents state that due process is not violated.
“In 2019, Lindsey Graham promised he wouldn’t support gun confiscation without due process. In 2022, he’s ready to help Biden and the Democrats pass all of their gun control bills,” Greene charged in a post published on her Gettr account.
“Lindsey Graham needs to hear from you. Tell him to vote NO on gun control, especially red flag gun confiscation,” she added.
In the accompanying video, Greene tells Graham she’s concerned about red flag legislation as a “gun owner” and a “business owner,” and asks the senator to protect due process on any such legislation.
“I ask if you guys will consider a way to put in this bill, where it doesn’t violate due process,” she told Graham.
“We will,” the senator responded. “There won’t be a bill without that.”
“Oh, thank you so much, sir,” Greene told Graham.
The Georgia representative then again told the senator she was “concerned,” to which Graham said, “I promise you there will not be,” seemingly referring to infringement on due process protections.
In an op-ed for The Daily Wire, Nikki Goeser, the executive director for the Crime Prevention Research Center, warned that red flag laws “remove all these due process protections.”
“These laws allow judges to seize a person’s guns without a trial, based solely on a written complaint that the person might be a danger to themselves or others,” she wrote. “All a judge needs is ‘reasonable suspicion.'”
“It has always been possible to take a dangerous person’s guns away,” Goeser continued. “All 50 states and the federal government have involuntary commitment laws that go by various names: the Baker Act in Florida, for example, or the 5150 code in California. They all require a mental health expert to testify before a judge, but hearings can occur quickly in urgent cases. If those facing a hearing can’t afford a lawyer, the judge provides them with one. Judges have a lot of flexibility when ruling. For instance, if the person on trial does not agree to voluntary psychiatric treatment, they may be committed involuntarily or have their guns confiscated.”