NevadansCAN, a conservative activist group, on Thursday filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block Nevada’s new “red flag” law set to take effect on Jan. 1.
The “red flag” law is a part of a broader firearms bill AB291 and states that a Nevada resident’s firearms can be seized under “extreme risk protection orders” if a resident threatens or commits an act of violence to themselves or others. Additionally, under the law, a resident’s firearms could be taken away if the individual is deemed a “serious and imminent threat” by police or if the person has engaged in risky behavior while in possession of or had recently purchased a firearm.
However, NevadansCAN believes the provision to be unconstitutional.
“The Red Flag provision violates both the Constitution of the United States and the Nevada State Constitution by giving judges the power to take away an individual’s right to keep and bear arms based on the accusation that the individual is dangerous and should not have a firearm,” Julie Chen Hereford, the suit’s co-plaintiff, said in a statement.
Fellow co-plaintiff Mary Rooney added: “A person accused of being a danger may not even be aware of the court action against him, and his guns can be forcibly taken by law enforcement and his premises searched. Due process never enters into it.”
Nevada isn’t the first state to propose such a law. Currently, 17 states and Washington, D.C., have similar laws.
The staff of Gov. Steve Sisolak (D), who signed AB291 into law and is named in the lawsuit, didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.