Vice President Kamala Harris announced significant funding for programs supporting red flag laws, which can seize the firearms of citizens without a trial. The laws have faced considerable criticism from conservatives, who argue that they are not constitutional and violate the Second Amendment.
The vice president made the comment during a visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, the site of the 2018 school shooting that killed 17 people.
Harris announced the creation of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center, which would come with $750 million in funding. She also pledged support for new red flag laws utilizing the same funds.
“Red flag laws are simply designed to allow communities a vehicle through which they can share and have somewhere to share it, information about the concern about the potential danger or the crying out for help of an individual and then let’s give it to them before tragedy occurs. Part of why I am here today is to challenge every state to pass a red flag law,” she said.
So far, 21 states have enacted such red flag laws. However, 15 of the 21 have not received federal funding to enact them.
PARKLAND, Fl — VP Harris announces federal resource center to support the implementation of red flag laws
“I do believe we have a duty to remember and a duty to bear witness to what happened here,” she said following a mtg with families and a visit to around the school grounds pic.twitter.com/eMXiH9hQSK
— Alec Hernández (@AlecAHernandez) March 23, 2024
The Biden administration seeks an expansion of red flag laws in states that have not yet passed one.
Harris received considerable criticism from Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who was the state’s governor during the school shooting. Scott called the effort “radical” and “trampling” on the Second Amendment.
“The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act improved school safety in Florida and has helped law enforcement make appropriate interventions with people who pose a threat of violence to themselves or others while robustly protecting due process rights that stop unlawful infringement of the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Floridians,” he said, citing a bill he signed into law.
A number of states have passed red flag laws in recent years, including New York. Some advocates believe that it reduces the chance of violence while detractors point out that the firearms are seized without a proper trial.
Despite the passage of a number of such red flag laws and similar legislation since the 2018 school shooting, crime has increased significantly. This includes in a number of states and cities dominated by the Democratic Party.
