House Minority Whip Steve Scalis (R-La.) noted on Fox News Sunday whether the GOP is “out of step” with voters on proposed gun control legislation.
After pointing out that the US “leads by far and away every other country in the developed world in terms of gun violence”, Fox News anchor John Roberts pointed to a poll that showed 89% of American gun owners. and 74% support RED. flag law.
“You and other Republicans have ideas about background checks and red flag laws that run contrary to public sentiment,” Roberts told the Louisiana Republican. “So is the idea that you and your allies keep up with the country step by step?”
Scalise argued that the questions in the survey were misleading and called the red flag laws “unconstitutional”.
“Under the guise of red flags, they take away due process,” he argued.
“They literally come into your house and take your gun without you even knowing there was some sort of proceedings where someone said, ‘Oh, I guess [person] There could be a danger,” the MP said.
In most cases across the country, a red flag law enables law enforcement to temporarily seize firearms from individuals who are seen as a danger to themselves or other people, if a court is to do so. is ordered.
“If this was the case with the Buffalo shooter, there would be ten people alive today,” Roberts said.
“Well, again, due process is a constitutional right,” Scalise replied.
His remarks come amid renewed pressure on Congress to pass gun reform legislation in the wake of a dangerous spate of mass shootings, including a massacre in Buffalo, New York that killed ten people last month and a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. I have come Killed 19 children and two teachers.
A bipartisan group of senators last week began discussing potential gun control legislation, which would likely include red flag legislation and stricter background check measures for gun purchases.
Scalise is among several GOP lawmakers who have strongly defended gun rights and blamed other factors for the violence. He himself is a victim of gun violence; He suffered a hip injury in the 2017 congressional baseball shooting.