Well it’s not playing out that way.
In another case in Frederick County, a man whose guns were seized under a temporary substantial risk order had them returned last week after a judge denied a prosecutor’s attempt to extend the order permanently. The man testified during a Sept. 11 hearing that his son and father, who obtained the order against him, lied to police that he pulled a pistol on his son in their home on Sept. 2, The Winchester Star reported.
“The red flag law is wrong because anybody who is spiteful can have someone’s guns taken from them,” the man told the presiding judge before two semi-automatic rifles, a hunting rifle and three pistols were returned to him, according to the newspaper’s account.
To confiscate the man’s weapons, the law requires authorities prove “by clear and convincing evidence” that he poses a substantial risk of personal injury to himself or other individuals in the near future. The judge found no such grounds, saying that “there are no witnesses that say a gun was pointed at them,” reported the Star, which noted the man’s accusers did not show up in court to testify.
Please note the last sentence. The man’s accusers didn’t even show up to testify to the red flag law being issued and they issued it anyway. That prosecutor or attorney should be fired but he won’t be.
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