Acting U.S. President Donald J. Trump, in Direct Violation of Due Process and Guarantees Afforded to Prospective Gun Owners by Virtue of the Second Amendment of the Constitution, as Well as the Fourth Amendment Within the Bill of Rights That Unequivocally States That People Possess the Inalienable Right to Be Secure in Their Persons, Places of Residence, Papers, and Effects, Against Unwarranted Searches and Seizures; Expresses Support for Confiscating Firearms From Individuals Deemed by Authorities to Be an Imminent Threat to the Safety and Security of the Most Vulnerable Segments of Society, Specifically as It Pertains to Academic Institutions and Educational Facilities in the Wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Mass Casualty Event That Occurred in Parkland, Florida; on February 14th of 2018

The gist of the President’s statement cataloged as a response to comments from Vice President Mike Pence, who was quoted with the following:

“Allow due process so no one’s rights are trampled, but the ability to go to court, obtain an order and then collect not only the firearms, but any weapons.”

In contrast, Trump’s retort emphasized the necessity of law enforcement agencies to exercise preemptive authoritative measures and actively target segments of the civilian population identified as imminent threats to themselves or others based primarily on the opinions of their peers, immediate or extended family, and/ or police officers, a fact evidenced in the utterances below:

“Or, Mike, take the firearms first, then go to court. I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida… to go to court would have taken a long time. Take the guns first, go through due process second.”

NOTE – The events that occurred on the premises of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida; became the foundation for the U.S. Federal Government’s adoption of Red Flag Ordinances – legislative directives that permit law enforcement agencies, immediate or extended family members, or concerned citizens to actively petition a state’s judiciary assembly to confiscate firearms from an individual deemed to be a danger to the community based solely on their potential to engage in or participate in criminal acts or exhibit violent tendency. Orders issued under the pretext of these stipulations, also known as “risk-based gun removal laws,” are ubiquitous with the terminology appearing below:

Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs): A descriptor used to refer to the restrictive mandate in the states of Colorado, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs): A term used to describe the ordinance in the state of California.

Proceedings for the Seizure and Retention of a Firearm: Endemic to the state of Indiana.

Risk Protection Orders: Commonly used as a point of reference in trial proceedings in the state of Florida.

As of January 1st of 2020, the following states and/ or intergovernmental municipalities have formally adopted Red Flag legislation as a means of deterring gun violence:

California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
Oregon
Rhode Island
Vermont
Washington

What followed shortly thereafter was no less egregious, the introduction of H.R. (House Resolution) 838, also referred to as the T.A.P.S. (Threat Assessment, Prevention, and Safety) Act (Link 1, Link 2), a bipartisan injunction allowing for preemptive behavioral/ cognitive assessment (pre-crime legislation based on the conceptualization of a presupposed psychoanalytical jurisprudence) whereby individuals would be forbidden from purchasing firearms or ammunition stores on the basis of threat potential. Later submitted to the U.S. Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security on March 25th of 2019; this stipulative measure failed to garner the support necessary to pass the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Panel.

LINKED ARTICLES OF REFERENCE

Trump: “Take the Guns First, Go Through Due Process Second”

*VIDEO* CNBC: Acting U.S. President Donald J. Trump Emphasizes the Necessity of Gun Confiscation on the Basis of Safety and Security in Direct Violation of Due Process