A Poignant Letter to the Editor:
Some municipalities have passed resolutions or are considering resolutions in support of declaring a municipality a “Second Amendment Municipality.”
I have issues with this resolution adopted by Hamburg or any municipality with similar wording. The resolution in one sections states, “c. The Borough of Hamburg opposes gun control, ‘gun safety’ legislation, or ‘red flag laws’, State, Federal, or local. Agenda No. XI 26.”
Under New Jersey’s red flag law, a judge may issue a gun violence restraining order authorizing the police to confiscate a person’s firearms if the judge determines that the person poses a significant risk of personal injury to himself or others. A hearing must be held within 10 days. At the hearing, the person’s firearm may be taken away for a period of up to one year.
Currently, 17 states and the District of Columbia have approved “red flag laws.” From the 2016 statistics, New Jersey had a 5.5 death rate by gun violence per 100,000 with total of 485 deaths and ranked 45th in the country. The national average is 11.73. If New Jersey was at the national average, we would have had 1,034 deaths.
On Aug. 5, 2019 President Trump stated after a mass shooting killing 31 people, “We must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do not have access to firearms and that if they do, those firearms can be taken through rapid due process. That is why I have called for red flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders.”
In August of 2019, NBC News-Wall Street Journal survey stated 76% percent support “red flag” laws.
Why would a municipality support a resolution opposing gun control, gun safety, or “red flag laws”? Do they want to increase the number of gun deaths, increase fear of mass shootings in schools, malls, concerts, etc?
Jim Ayers, Frankford
https://www.njherald.com/opinion/20200122/why-not-support-red-flag-laws-trump-does