Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida for what amounted to a gun control campaign stop over the weekend, announcing the creation of a new national office promoting extreme risk protection orders (ERPO), also known as “red flag” laws, according to Fox News.
The Second Amendment Foundation launched a project last year titled “Capture the Flag,” which was created to challenge unconstitutional red flag laws. SAF is focusing on six states initially: California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington.
Harris announced the new National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resources Center. It will reportedly provide support for the 21 states which have “red flag” laws.
The Guardian is reporting that the ERPO office is “Operated through the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, and paid for by a justice department grant.” The Guardian said ERPO is “designed to help state and local governments, law enforcement, and others – including behavioral health and social service providers – “optimize” the use of red flag laws,” according to Harris.
The high school was the scene of the Feb. 14, 2018 mass shooting which claimed the lives of 17 students and staff. The killer, a 19-year-old former student, was captured, tried and convicted. He is serving a life sentence in prison.
In a White House statement, the administration explained, “The Resource Center will provide training and technical assistance, which will include developing and disseminating educational opportunities and workshops for a wide variety of stakeholders, providing implementation support, supporting peer-to-peer engagements with model learning sites, performing site assessments, and developing presentations and webinars that will advance states and localities’ knowledge in key areas related to ERPOs.
The White House statement also noted, “At the same time President Biden and Vice President Harris call on Congress to pass universal background checks, a national red flag law, an assault weapons ban, and a secure storage law; to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which gives gun dealers and manufactures special immunity from certain liability for their products; and to increase appropriations to support youth mental health and violence prevention strategies.”
Fox News is reporting that not everyone was happy about Harris’ announcement.
Ryan Petty, father of a Stoneman Douglas victim, reportedly called her comments a “slap in the face” to parents like him who have advocated for solutions that do not infringe on Second Amendment rights.
“The vice president and the White House’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention made it very clear to families early on that nothing short of new gun control was going to satisfy them in protecting our nation’s schools,” Petty said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “And that is just a slap in the face to those of us that have worked for six years now to try to protect our nation’s schools.”
