It is now the law of the land, signed last Saturday by President Biden — the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.” Hidden deep within one of its most controversial provisions, dealing with Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), more commonly known as “Red Flag Laws,” is language that provides a clever way for judges to ignore the “constitutional rights” that purport to guard against abusing these problematic provisions.
The bill itself — S.2938 — is 81 pages long; somewhat short by today’s standards, when bills running to hundreds of pages are not uncommon.
It is not until a reader is well into the text of the bill that the “Firearms” provisions are laid out in any detail, and this is where the real problem becomes clear — clear, that is, if you read carefully the provisions regarding ERPOs.