This is from Volokh Conspiracy. It is a North Carolina appellate decision and has no effect anywhere outside of North Carolina. However, the logic the court used is universal.

Guns and Due Process

I’m not a lawyer and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express but I have doubts about the legality of “Red Flag” schemes. The North Carolina decision, regarding issuance of a concealed carry permit would seem to apply to a “Red Flag” action. Here is the court’s take:

Constitutionally, Petitioner argues … due process protections require prior notice and an opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and manner before denying him a permit ….
[We agree that] the lack of prior notice and the “bare bones” denial of his application by the district court denied him due process….
“An elementary and fundamental requirement of due process in any proceeding which is to be accorded finality is notice reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections.” … In addition to prior notice, a “fundamental requirement of due process is the opportunity to be heard ‘at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner.'”

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA No. CO A 19-197 Filed: 15 October 2019

My take is that the issuance of a concealed carry permit, license or what have you is an administrative function. The court feels that a person subject to the process is entitled to due process going in. A red flag seizure of weapons is also an administrative process. A criminal charge is not required and the process to retrieve any weapons is civil in nature.

When law enforcement has probable cause to believe there is criminal activity involving a specific person and place, then they have the option of applying for a search warrant. This is not a civil or administrative process. Criminal conduct may pose a danger to police or the public or result in the destruction of evidence. The process of obtaining a search warrant established probable cause that a criminal violation is occurring. Oftentimes the search warrant also authorizes and arrest.

With Red Flag law there is no criminal conduct. There need be no specificity as to the number and type of weapons. There doesn’t even have to be a specific target or threat. A generalized feeling of unease will do. A lack of facts is not a problem as long as the person complaining is willing to state a conclusion, guns bad.

Here is an example of Ted Flag law at work. This incident occurred in Massachusetts. A waitress overheard a conversation and took it out of context. She reported it and the police obtained a red flag order, fearing the speaker was going to shoot up a a school. Read the story. There is a reason citizens of Massachusetts are called “Massholes.”

Korean War Vet has Guns Confiscated when Someone Claims He Made ‘Threat’

Typical liberal bullshit. Confronted with individuals who deviate from the norm, they target inanimate objects. This guy is crazy…grab his guns. Those folks are shitting in the street…hire somebody to clean it up.