Last Updated on August 15, 2019
A total of 26 current and former South Dakota legislators are calling on federal officials to put an end to gun free zones and immediately end their push for Red Flag Laws.
In a letter sent to South Dakota Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds, as well as U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and President Donald Trump, legislators are demanding an immediate end to the recent push for gun control at the federal level.
They also demand an end to federal gun free zones that, according to some, provide an ideal target for mass shooters.
The legislators argue that red flag laws violate the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and are asking the delegation to instead focus on ending “gun free zones,” which the letter calls “unsafe” and “dangerous.”
“Instead of stripping law-abiding citizens of their constitutional rights and placing them in fear with proposed ‘red flag’ laws, let’s take this opportunity to do the right thing and make would-be mass murderers fear for their safety if they contemplate acts of violence against fellow Americans,” the letter states.
The legislators wrote that they are concerned that Congress is “instead once again following the lead of liberal gun control activists and proposing more ineffective laws that subvert the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.”
The letter also requests the South Dakota Senators support the “Safe Students Act, proposed by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to repeal the 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act.”
Research indicates that 94 per cent of mass shootings have occurred in gun free zones since 1950.
Current state legislators who signed the letter, according to The Argus Leader, include Sens. Stace Nelson, Lance Russell, Lyndi DiSanto, Phil Jensen, Jeff Monroe, Jim Salzer, Reps. Drew Dennert, Tom Pischke, Tony Randolph, Julie Frye-Mueller, Sam Marty, Steve Livermont, Tim Goodwin, Taffy Howard, Tina Mulally, Kaleb Weis, Kevin Jensen, Thomas Brunner, and Chris Johnson.
An additional 7 former legislators signed the letter.
Republicans in the Senate are currently contemplating whether they can tempt individual states to pass Red Flag Laws in exchange for more federal funding, with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) widely seen as leading the push.
It is expected Congress will attempt to pass Red Flag Laws when they return from the current recess.
National File previously reported on Gary Willis, the first man to lose his life as the result of a Red Flag Law gun confiscation gone awry:
Willis was killed in a 2018 altercation with police after they went to his home at 5 a.m. with permission to confiscate his guns. A distant family member had called the police to request they remove his firearms after an unspecified altercation at his home in the previous days, and the rest of his family was left shocked.
Willis, prepared to defend himself as someone knocked on his door in the early hours of the morning, went to the door with a weapon in hand. Upon discovering it was the police, he disregarded his gun, and spoke to them.
After learning they had what he believed an unconstitutional order to remove his firearms, Willis became irate, and a physical altercation ensued.
Meanwhile, though supposedly a supporter of gun confiscation via Red Flag Laws, President Donald Trump recently illustrated how such laws could be abused, suggesting CNN’s Chris “Fredo” Cuomo should have his Second Amendment rights revoked due to his recent outburst that was caught on camera.
With one Tweet POTUS explains how red flag laws can and will be abused. https://t.co/3W4J6JQl9f
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 13, 2019
Cuomo lost his cool on camera, appearing to threaten violence and swearing profusely, after a man mistakenly referred to him as “Fredo” in public. According to President Trump, this could be cause for him to be stripped of his constitutional rights.
