State Senator Steve Dickerson (R-Nashville) has gotten the attention of local and national gun rights activist groups for promising to introduce a “red flag” bill in the upcoming legislative session. So-called red flag laws permit a judge to issue an order to seize firearms from a lawful owner based upon a petition from police or family members citing something as feeble as statements made by the gun owner in question, hence the name “red flag.” Dickerson, in an op-ed to The Tennessean, alludes to bills signed into law by Republican governors since the Parkland shooting, saying, “This is exactly the type of bipartisan, common-sense gun violence prevention policy we need in Tennessee.” That’s why, Dickerson says, “I will introduce a red flag bill when the Tennessee General Assembly reconvenes next session.” Tennessee Firearms Association Executive Director John Harris, in an email to the organization’s members, has raised the question as to whether Constitutional rights should be subject to the low threshold infringements of red flag laws. Ammoland Shooting Sports News picked up Harris’ commentary and published it in its entirety. Harris says that red flag laws “may just be the newest euphemism for reasonable gun control.” Indeed, in his commentary,…
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