Acujeff
NES Member
How to Prepare For A Red Flag Confiscation Order At Your House
BY JOHN BOCH | APR 18, 2019
How to Prepare For A Red Flag Confiscation Order At Your House - The Truth About Guns
Who needs to think about red flag confiscation orders? If you live in one of those states with red flag laws (WA, OR, CA, IL, IN, NY, NJ, MD, FL, RI, VT, CT, DE, MA), and now Colorado, cops could show up unannounced at your home with a court order to take your guns.
It couldn’t happen to you?
Don’t be a fool.
How is your home life with your significant other? Do you have any current or former disgruntled business partners or employers/employees? Have any issues with parents, children or other relatives? How do you get along with the in-laws? The neighbors? Co-workers? Ex-girlfriends/boyfriends? Had any bad Tinder (or Grindr) dates?
If you’re like most folks, you’ve angered someone at some point in your life who might file a complaint to get even. Especially if they know you embrace America’s gun culture.
If they have a “red flag” order to seize the firearms, they already have the authority to search for them. Unless you want your entire dwelling turned upside down, you might as well let them know where the firearms are stored. Depending on the officers involved, I suppose that could happen anyway, but why give them an excuse?
Another thing to consider is that your actions and attitude during the seizure might be used as evidence during the hearing that will ultimately take place. If you go off on a rant about “that bitch” or otherwise lose your temper, you just give the petitioner more evidence to put before the judge to support the argument that you are too dangerous and unstable to have a firearm.
If I were to represent a client (yes, I’m a lawyer) in a proceeding following such a seizure, my ideal witness would be a cop who testified that he served the order on my client, that my client was calm, polite, and cooperative at all times, and that the only request that he made was that he be allowed to call his lawyer.
I would also like to hear him say that the client seemed surprised, but made no effort to find out the source of the information that led to the order. That’s my job. Asking, “Who did this to me?” or “Did Mary put you up to this?” just feeds the narrative that you have a beef with Mary, and maybe, just maybe, Mary might be right to fear you.
In addition, you have just given the officer an excuse to ask, “So what’s the problem with Mary?” He can write your answer in his report, and it is admissible in evidence; but if you say something different in court, that original answer may come back to bite you.
In short, when you are in a deep hole, stop digging. Just shut up, do what the officer says, and let us sort it out in court. You may lose, but at least you will not have made it easier for the other side to prove its case.
Some things you won’t be able to do
If you are served with a red flag order, you will not be able to purchase firearms. Not only would lying on a 4473 expose you to federal and probably state charges, but the NICS check would probably block the sale even if you did lie misrepresent your status.
Another thing not to do: refuse to allow cops entry into your home if they show up on the doorstep with that court order. They have the right to enter and the will do it. If you resist, they will use force. Up to and including deadly force.
You won’t get your guns back if you’re dead.
Even if you’re sure you’re in the right and the order is frivolous or maliciously-inspired, you won’t win that debate with the police officers standing on your doorstep. They are coming in and they will be taking your firearms. You won’t be helping your chances of getting your guns back at a later date giving law enforcement a hard time.
Best advice: bite your tongue. The best course of action may be to help the officers collect the guns in an effort to expedite their mission and get them out of your home as soon as possible. If you don’t assist them, they may end up crawling around in your attic, poking around in your basement – or worse.
What next?
At that point, you will need to retain a lawyer to represent you at the formal hearing that will take place in about 10 days or so.
Perhaps the best way to protect yourself from these gun seizure comes by buying a little peace of mind. While you will lose the battle on the day the cops show up with a Red Flag, knowing you won’t have to spend a bunch of money on an attorney to win the war will help you stay calm as cops carry away your shotguns, rifles and handguns.
Some gun owners insurance programs will represent its clients in red flag hearings.
There's more info on moving or transferring your guns and ammo in advance of a suspected Red Flag confiscation in the article at the link.
BY JOHN BOCH | APR 18, 2019
How to Prepare For A Red Flag Confiscation Order At Your House - The Truth About Guns
Who needs to think about red flag confiscation orders? If you live in one of those states with red flag laws (WA, OR, CA, IL, IN, NY, NJ, MD, FL, RI, VT, CT, DE, MA), and now Colorado, cops could show up unannounced at your home with a court order to take your guns.
It couldn’t happen to you?
Don’t be a fool.
How is your home life with your significant other? Do you have any current or former disgruntled business partners or employers/employees? Have any issues with parents, children or other relatives? How do you get along with the in-laws? The neighbors? Co-workers? Ex-girlfriends/boyfriends? Had any bad Tinder (or Grindr) dates?
If you’re like most folks, you’ve angered someone at some point in your life who might file a complaint to get even. Especially if they know you embrace America’s gun culture.
If they have a “red flag” order to seize the firearms, they already have the authority to search for them. Unless you want your entire dwelling turned upside down, you might as well let them know where the firearms are stored. Depending on the officers involved, I suppose that could happen anyway, but why give them an excuse?
Another thing to consider is that your actions and attitude during the seizure might be used as evidence during the hearing that will ultimately take place. If you go off on a rant about “that bitch” or otherwise lose your temper, you just give the petitioner more evidence to put before the judge to support the argument that you are too dangerous and unstable to have a firearm.
If I were to represent a client (yes, I’m a lawyer) in a proceeding following such a seizure, my ideal witness would be a cop who testified that he served the order on my client, that my client was calm, polite, and cooperative at all times, and that the only request that he made was that he be allowed to call his lawyer.
I would also like to hear him say that the client seemed surprised, but made no effort to find out the source of the information that led to the order. That’s my job. Asking, “Who did this to me?” or “Did Mary put you up to this?” just feeds the narrative that you have a beef with Mary, and maybe, just maybe, Mary might be right to fear you.
In addition, you have just given the officer an excuse to ask, “So what’s the problem with Mary?” He can write your answer in his report, and it is admissible in evidence; but if you say something different in court, that original answer may come back to bite you.
In short, when you are in a deep hole, stop digging. Just shut up, do what the officer says, and let us sort it out in court. You may lose, but at least you will not have made it easier for the other side to prove its case.
Some things you won’t be able to do
If you are served with a red flag order, you will not be able to purchase firearms. Not only would lying on a 4473 expose you to federal and probably state charges, but the NICS check would probably block the sale even if you did lie misrepresent your status.
Another thing not to do: refuse to allow cops entry into your home if they show up on the doorstep with that court order. They have the right to enter and the will do it. If you resist, they will use force. Up to and including deadly force.
You won’t get your guns back if you’re dead.
Even if you’re sure you’re in the right and the order is frivolous or maliciously-inspired, you won’t win that debate with the police officers standing on your doorstep. They are coming in and they will be taking your firearms. You won’t be helping your chances of getting your guns back at a later date giving law enforcement a hard time.
Best advice: bite your tongue. The best course of action may be to help the officers collect the guns in an effort to expedite their mission and get them out of your home as soon as possible. If you don’t assist them, they may end up crawling around in your attic, poking around in your basement – or worse.
What next?
At that point, you will need to retain a lawyer to represent you at the formal hearing that will take place in about 10 days or so.
Perhaps the best way to protect yourself from these gun seizure comes by buying a little peace of mind. While you will lose the battle on the day the cops show up with a Red Flag, knowing you won’t have to spend a bunch of money on an attorney to win the war will help you stay calm as cops carry away your shotguns, rifles and handguns.
Some gun owners insurance programs will represent its clients in red flag hearings.
There's more info on moving or transferring your guns and ammo in advance of a suspected Red Flag confiscation in the article at the link.
Last edited: