Six States Ban Red Flag Enforcement — With Teeth

Six states have outlawed enforcement of so-called 'red flag' laws, and some are threatening to punish any government official who tries to use them anyway.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders, or ERPOs, let courts strip law-abiding citizens of their firearms based on accusations alone — before any crime is committed, before any conviction, before any due process plays out. Gun owners have named it accurately: confiscation first, rights later.

The anti-gun outlet The Trace is wringing its hands over the trend, framing state bans as dangerous and built on 'false claims' of misuse. Here's the truth: when a law allows a judge to seize your legally owned firearms based on a tip from a disgruntled ex or an overzealous neighbor, the potential for abuse isn't a conspiracy theory — it's a design flaw.

For years, red flag proponents sold ERPOs as bipartisan common sense. Even Donald Trump and the NRA offered tepid support in the aftermath of high-profile tragedies. That political cover has since evaporated, and for good reason.

Gun owners across the country have watched ERPO laws weaponized against veterans, domestic dispute defendants, and ordinary Americans who never threatened anyone. The due process protections ERPO supporters promised have repeatedly proven paper-thin in courtrooms where the accused often doesn't know a hearing is happening until deputies show up at the door.

Now states are fighting back — hard. Not just repealing ERPO statutes, but building legal walls around their citizens and warning officials: enforce these orders and face consequences. That's not extremism. That's a legislature doing its job.

Acting AG Todd Blanche and the Justice Department should watch this states' rights movement closely. The federal government has no business pressuring Second Amendment sanctuary states to comply with unconstitutional firearm seizure frameworks pushed by anti-gun activists.

The Second Amendment doesn't have an asterisk. If you live in a state that has banned ERPO enforcement, thank your state legislators — and make sure they know you're watching to ensure those protections hold.