Daily Caller NRA ILA 4/21/2020
A state with one of the worst “Red Flag†gun confiscation laws on the books just got worse. On April 13, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued a guidance document on the procedures concerning certain types of restraining orders. Citing the ongoing COVID-19 panic, Becerra noted that all ex parte Gun Violence Restraining Orders (EGVROs) are to be extended 90 days past the statutory expiration date. Under state law, such orders expire after 21 days – meaning that an ex parte GVRO may now last up to 110 days. California’s latest attack on gun rights and due process should serve as a warning to gun owners across the country about the dangers inherent to “Red Flag†gun confiscation laws.
California’s ex parte GVRO procedure is already worthy of constitutional challenge as it deprives a person of a constitutional right without due process of law. At a bare minimum due process requires notice, an opportunity to be heard and present evidence, and the right to be represented by counsel.​
Under Cal.Penal Code §18150, an ex parte GVRO may be sought by an immediate family member or a law enforcement officer. Based solely on the word of the family member or law enforcement officer, if a judge finds that there is a “substantial likelihood†that the subject of the petition “poses a significant danger, in the near future, of causing personal injury to the subject of the petition or another by having in their custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm†an ex parte GVRO may be granted. Unlike the established evidentiary standards attendant to criminal proceedings, “substantial likelihood†is weak and nebulous and provides the subject of the petition little protection from frivolous allegations.
More:
https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/21/california-extends-ex-parte-red-flag-gun-confiscation-orders/
