Hawkins: Trump White House Declares Support for Gun Confiscation Orders

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

The Trump White House released policy papers Monday declaring full support for California-style firearm confiscation orders.

Breitbart News has a copy of the release and it urges states to adopt Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs). Such orders allow firearms to be confiscated with a judge’s approval.

The White House suggests that ERPOs “allow law enforcement, with approval from a court, to remove firearms from individuals who are a demonstrated threat to themselves or others and temporarily to prevent individuals from purchasing new firearms.” They stressed that the orders “should be carefully tailored to ensure the due process rights of law-abiding citizens are protected.”

California adopted similar gun confiscation laws in 2015 and Southern California Public Radio reports that 190 orders requiring confiscation were issued 2016-2017 alone.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed California-style confiscation orders into law on Friday and the White House is urging other states to follow suit.

On March 1, 2018, Vice President Mike Pence took pains to focus on the need to guard “due process” in issuing ERPOs. Trump responded to Pence’s statement by saying, “Or, Mike, take the firearms first, and then go to court.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

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