Assignment: Risk Assessment and Prevention

WEEK 5 DISCUSSION QUESTION

BELOW IS MY DISCUSSION QUESTION TO THE CLASS PLEASE FULLY READ IT SO YOU WILL KNOW HOW TO ANSWER BACK TO THE STUDENT AND PROFESSOR WHEN ANY QUESTIONS THEY MAY ASK…...AND MAKE SURE YOU REFERENCE ALL YOUR WORK AND THIS CAN BE OUSTIDE REFERENCE OR FROM THE TEXTBOOK

Are red flag laws sufficient for preventing violent crime? Why or why not?

Yes, the Red Flag Laws are sufficient for the prevention of violent crime. Concerning the mass shooting, which is associated with most of the community because of the violent crime, several states worldwide have enacted the use of the red flag laws. The reason for passing the law is to allow the specific individual such as the family members and the medical officers to report someone to the police who they believe have got access to the firearm, which makes the individual pose risk to others and themselves. After the report is filed to the court, judges must determine whether those firearms they should temporarily remove from the individual. There are several ways of harming someone without using guns. Most individuals in society use knives to bombs, and those experiencing mental illness prove this every day in the community. However, some individuals argue that the red flag law is made to save numerous people's lives from violent crime. In contrast, some of the hecklers say that the red flag laws are an infringement of the constitutional rights for an individual to bear arms. The hecklers think that whether or not taking the individual guns by the court will not stop them from hurting other individuals as a result of the violent crime (Gay, 2020).

To what degree are red flag laws constitutional?

The Red Flag Law is a law that allows courts to prevent an individual who shows signs of being a danger to themselves from having access to firearms. The court prevents the individual by ordering the confiscation of the guns from them. From the study conducted the red flags laws are constitutional as they are similar to the civil laws that protect individuals from harming themselves. The red flag laws provide the procedural same with the civil law due process than some laws that confine individuals against their will. Most of the states globally have drafted the red flag laws to allow the authorities to remove firearms to that individual at risk to others and themselves, which helps protect their constitutional rights. The state legislators justify stopping the governments from passing the Red flag laws as it violates the constitutional law. They argued that the law violates the amendment that protects against unwarranted government interference with the expression and violates an individual's right to bear firearms for self-defense (Pease, 2019)

 

References

Gay, C. (2020). 'Red Flag ‘laws: how law enforcement's controversial new tool to reduce mass shootings fits within current Second Amendment jurisprudence. BCL Rev., 61, 1491.

Pease, H. (2019, June 05). ‘Red flag’ laws violate Constitutional law. Retrieved from https://www.eagleobserver.com/news/2019/jun/05/red-flag-laws-violate-constitutional-la/ Congressional Research Services. (2019, August 07). Firearm ‘red flag’ laws in the 116th Congress. Retrieved from https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11205

STUDENT REPLIES

STUDENT REPLY #1 Rayjeem Williams

Red flag laws have a good foundation of how they perceive prevention of violent crimes from happening. The red flag laws have two approaches that the department of justice put forth for states to adopt. First approach is named the warrant statute which is if a court has signed off that an individual presents a danger to themselves or others, and this gives officers an immediate flag to seek and seize that individuals’ guns. The second approach is the order statue whereas this provides a long-term approach of denying access to firearms. The issue with both approaches is the individual may already have firearms that’s not in view so no one knows about them and also there is a small chance that if the individual wanted to commit a crime, they wouldn’t tell anyone so the courts would not catch win of the violent crime beforehand.

I feel that red flag laws could be seen as being unconstitutional due to the second amendment being rights to bear arms, but if it’s looked upon as saving our loved ones and keeping the world safe, I don’t believe it should be a major issue. The right to bear arms is for protection for yourself and property but when it’s used in violent unjustified crime this amendment should go out of the window. Although red flag laws are farfetched in being used, I believe it is still a good tool to have in place just in case someone is able to report certain violent crimes that has been discussed and saves someone life.

Reference

NPR Cookie Consent and Choices. (2021, June 7). NPR.Org. https://choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/2021/06/07/1004088968/states-get-a-blueprint-for-red-flag-gun-removal-laws-from-the-justice-department

STUDENT REPLIES

STUDENT REPLY #2 Tracee Sheppard

According to a Duke University study, De-identified records were found for suicide, arrest for violent crimes, and firearm involvement. The results discovered 38% arrest of violent firearm arrest and 72% of suicides involved legally eligible to have possession of a firearm. No, I do not believe the red flag law prevents violent crimes because what if the family member is unaware that the other family member is in possession of a firearm or does not think the person is capable of preventing a violent crime? However, I do believe the red flag law can save lives according to the Duke University study. I think if the family member thinks that the individual would harm themselves or others, they would take further actions to save their life.

I do believe the red flag law is constitutional for this reason, if a family member thinks an individual poses danger to themselves or other’s law enforcement is allowed to seize the individual firearm.

Reference

Whitson, R. (2018, April 27). Gun-violence restraining orders: How red flag laws work. Police1. Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://www.police1.com/active-shooter/articles/gun-violence-restraining-orders-how-red-flag-laws-work-YUE6FxmQckfc688n/.