“California courts ordered people to temporarily give up possession of their firearms 86 times last year,” sacbee.com reports. “A new law, which took effect in 2016, allows family members or law enforcement officers to seek a “gun violence restraining order” against someone they believe poses an ‘immediate and present danger’ of harming themselves or others.” As we’ve reported . . .
Gun violence restraining orders are prima facie unconstitutional. Under the law, a judge can order government agents to confiscate the firearms of the accused in a closed-door hearing, without the accused being present.
Fortunately, a GVRO is a temporary order.
In California, the orders expire in 21 days — after which time the state must return the accused’s guns. Unless the court sees fit to extend the confiscation period in a hearing where the accused is actually present (yay!).
“In 10 cases last year, the judge held a hearing and extended the order to one year because they determined the individual was still a substantial threat,” sacbee.com reports.
Looking at that stat, you could say that California judges decided that the original GVRO was a good thing in only 12 percent of the cases. Or that the GVRO was unjustified 88 percent of the time.
But we don’t know how many of the 86 Californians subjected to a GVRO were put into protective care or incarcerated during those “first” 21 days of confiscation. Which would make them, by definition, prohibited persons, removing their ability to keep and bear arms (or any other dangerous object) without the need for a GVRO extension.
The whole thing is stupid. Not to mention unconstitutional.
Why in the world would a judge think that confiscating firearms from someone who poses a “substantial threat” would prevent them from later obtaining a firearm illegally — or by some other means carrying out a violent attack or committing suicide? In that sense, isn’t a GVRO something of a distraction from the real danger of letting adjudged loonies (sorry) run loose?
GVRO’s are security theater, folks. Meant to show that someone is doing something. Like all such examples of the breed, they breed stupidity, government overreach and the loss of liberty.