Red Flag

So, many of you saw that my state of Maryland killed a man over the red flag legislation.

That's what happens.  Law is deadly force.  Don't pass a law, legislators, unless you are fine with someone getting killed over it.   And now someone, predictably, has. 

One of 114 'warrants' served for this sort of thing.  Someone goes "Hey so and so over there is kinda iffy, better take his guns away."  One in 114 times that someone gets killed for it.  So far.  It's only been around for 40 days or so.  Started being enforceable 1 October.  That means more than one a day.

So, what does it take to get your doorbell rung at 6 AM?

Can Shannon Watts, who doesn't know me from Adam's off ox, read my Twitter and do "this guy likes that Sharp as a Marble's guitar tweets too much.  Kinda scary.  I better have the Maryland State police raid his house."

Can my liberal ex-wife, whom I haven't seen in person in a handful of years and still remain civil with on social media get a hair and send the police after me?  She doesn't like how I vote, and she KNOWS I have a Springfield 1903.  She's seen that.  She has heard rumors I might have more.  Can she have Maryland come kill me?

Or does it have to be more official than that.  Hospital records of me acting erratically, my physician worried about me enough to drop a dime, police interaction for noise complaints, that bad habit of shooting a shotgun into the night sky on New Years...

The fact the state seems to be working through a list to get those 114 by November 5th means these folks raided were probably all 'know to law enforcement' and the cops were just waiting to start a round up.

Who, though?  Someone has to be accountable.  Someone has to decide "this threat is credible, go get the guns" and "this threat is not credible, leave T-Bolt alone."  Some person or set of people are the ones that can decide.  SOMEONE has to be ACCOUNTABLE.  Who is the decider?  The execrable Brian Frosh, our AG?

This can't be constitutional, as written?  I mean, I am sorta FOR Red Flag laws, but with proper accountability safeguards.  And Brian Frosh is not it.

Lemme check.

Well.  Not full adjudication.  Just partial.  A judge is involved.  Shannon Watts could petition the court, and remain anonymous, and would have to state she is related to me, dating me, dated me, or lived in the same place as me in the past year.  Or be a cop or doctor.  Then I would have to have a hearing scheduled within 14 days where I could lay out my side.  But I've dated lots of folks.  And if they won't tell me who my accuser is how can I claim I never dated Shannon? 

Good thing she thinks my name is Thunderbolt, huh?  Plus she can get cited for perjury if she lies about anything in the petition.

But I've dated lots of liberal women in my youth.  And to them I was usually a selfish and inconsiderate lover.  And they know my last name.  That could come back to haunt me.