U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson
Georgia Congressman Drew Ferguson (R-GA-03) is joining the fight with nearly 160 colleagues seeking the full removal of a “red flag” provision in H.R. 4350, the House National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), during the conference committee process.
A “red flag” law is a gun control law that gives courts (or other authorities) broad discretion to seize firearms from individuals deemed “dangerous” to themselves or others.
“Red flag laws are unconstitutional and infringe on every American’s Second Amendment rights. They do not belong in a bill designed to provide for our national security and Armed Forces,” said Ferguson. “We have to ensure the removal of this provision.”
Last Friday, Ferguson announced that he would join Representative Stephanie Bice (OK-05), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) in sending a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
The letter expresses deep concern that if Sec. 529 of the NDAA were to be enacted, the Second Amendment rights of U.S. military servicemembers would be violated by allowing military judges and magistrates to issue military court gun confiscation orders.
The letter states, “…Even more concerning, under this provision, such an order could be issued by a military court on an ex parte basis – meaning the order could be issued without the servicemember even being present in court to defend themselves. We believe this is a serious breach of due process that demands your full attention.”
It goes on to say “…Every single day, brave American servicemembers serve in harm’s way to defend our nation, our way of life, and the very constitutional rights that Sec. 529 would erode. This dangerous provision must be excluded from the final package.”
“The NDAA is necessary legislation to fund our military and defense, as well as to provide salary and benefits for our soldiers and retirees. It is unfortunate that once again Democrats are doing everything they can to erode the Second Amendment rights of Americans, including those that protect and serve this country, by inserting red flag provisions into this bill,” said Rep. Bice.
“My vote in support of the NDAA was to reject Biden’s efforts to gut our military, to ensure we’re able to stand up to Russia and China, and to begin investigations into the Biden Administration’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, not to remove our military’s Second Amendment rights. I will fight to ensure this provision is stripped from the final version of the NDAA.”
The National Defense Authorization Act funds the entire Defense Department for the year.
The letter concludes with “Every single day, brave American servicemembers serve in harm’s way to defend our nation, our way of life, and the very constitutional rights that Sec. 529 would erode. This dangerous provision must be excluded from the final package. Again, we ask for your support to strike Sec. 529 of H.R. 4350 from the final conference report of the FY 2022 NDAA.”
