Holly MatkinWashington, DC – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued “proposed rulemaking” guidelines for states to use to create their own red-flag laws, as well as suggested clarification regarding regulations on short-barreled rifles.
The law-crafting blueprints are intended to “help address the continuing epidemic of gun violence” throughout the nation, the DOJ said in the announcement issued Monday.
The DOJ suggested states create legislation “that makes clear that when individuals use accessories to convert pistols into short-barreled rifles, they must comply with the heightened regulations on those dangerous and easily concealable weapons.”
The federal government also published “model legislation” to assist states in writing up their own “extreme risk protection order” laws, known as “red flag” laws.
The proposed guidelines encourage states to create legislation to allow police, healthcare providers, school officials and immediate family members to petition the court for an immediate restraining order to prevent someone who might pose a risk of harm to themselves or other from having access to guns, CNN reported.
The court would also be able to order law enforcement to immediately seize the citizen’s firearms in such cases, according to NPR.
The guidelines further pave the way for courts to hold additional hearings to decide whether or not an individual would be barred from possessing firearms for longer periods, the Daily Caller reported.
“The Justice Department is determined to take concrete steps to reduce the tragic toll of gun violence in our communities,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the announcement. “Today we continue to deliver on our promise to help save lives while protecting the rights of law-abiding Americans. We welcome the opportunity to work with communities in the weeks and months ahead in our shared commitment to end gun violence.”
President Joe Biden’s nominee for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), David Chipman, has repeatedly sung the praises of gun control, to include his promise to ban all rifles that chamber rounds larger than a .22-caliber and have detachable magazines, the Daily Caller reported.
