June 13, 2022
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.2377, the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order of 2022, that would allow families, police, and others to ask federal courts to order the removal of firearms from people at extreme risk of harming themselves or others. The bill passed the House by a vote of 224 in favor to 202 opposed.
The legislation, strongly supported by the Biden-Harris Administration, would allow judges to issue orders to temporarily remove and store individuals' firearms until hearings are held to determine whether the firearms should be returned or kept either indefinitely or for a specific period of time. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia already have such laws in place; however, this legislation would allow the practice federally.
Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the Democratic Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was quoted on apnews.com saying, "We are painfully aware that we cannot do enough to save every life, and there is no one answer that will solve this problem . . . But we do know that taking guns out of the hands of people who pose a danger to themselves, or others, would save countless lives."
This legislation now moves from the House of Representatives to the United States Senate, in which it is expected to fail. Opponents of the bill claim that the legislation gives the federal government the ability to take law-abiding Americans' guns without their consent. Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) was quoted saying, "It would allows the courts to take guns away from people without notice and without even the right to appear in the hearing to defend themselves in court."
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