States Make Red Flag Enforcement a Felony

South Carolina legislators have had enough — and they're putting teeth behind it. The state's Ban Against Red Flag Gun Confiscation Act makes enforcing an Extreme Risk Protection Order a felony, meaning any cop, judge, or bureaucrat who participates in a no-due-process firearms seizure faces criminal charges. That's not a bug in this bill. That's the entire point.

The Trace — the Bloomberg-funded gun-control operation masquerading as a newsroom — ran a full alarm piece on this development, framing pro-2A pushback as a threat to public safety. Their headline literally called red flag laws a tool that "may help prevent mass shootings." May. Built on contested, cherry-picked data. From people whose stated mission is civilian disarmament.

Here's what The Trace won't tell you: Red flag laws, formally called ERPOs, let courts strip a citizen of their firearms based on a unilateral petition — before any crime has been committed, before the accused appears in court, and before they have any meaningful chance to defend themselves. That is prior restraint on a constitutional right. Full stop.

South Carolina isn't alone. Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wyoming are advancing legislation to block, ban, or criminalize ERPO enforcement within their borders. This is a coordinated, growing movement of lawmakers who recognize that confiscating guns first and asking questions later isn't due process — it's a civil rights violation with a badge on it.

The Trace frames this wave of pro-2A legislation as dangerous polarization. Translation: Republican-led states stopped playing along, and the gun-control lobby is panicking. For years, ERPOs were sold as bipartisan common ground. Now that gun owners and their elected representatives have seen how these orders get abused — filed by vindictive ex-partners, nosy neighbors, and overzealous officials — the consensus has collapsed. Good.

Bloomberg's media operation exists to manufacture the appearance of mainstream support for policies that gut the Second Amendment. When they call something "common-sense," read: we want your guns and we found a softer way to say it. When they invoke mass shootings to justify ERPOs, remember: the accused under a red flag order hasn't committed any crime. They're being punished for what someone fears they might do.

Making ERPO enforcement a felony sends every jurisdiction in the state a clear message — the Second Amendment is not negotiable. Not for a court order, not for a federal grant, not for good press from The Trace.

Gun owners in every state need to push their legislators for the same. Find your state rep, send this story, and demand they put due process back into the equation — with criminal penalties for anyone who tries to remove it.