Alaska is a huge state with a small population. Because of this, it could have gone either way with regard to guns. On one hand, the fact that the larger communities are where most people live, it could be pretty anti-gun since larger communities tend to support gun control in every other state in the nation.
Or, because of the rural, wild nature of the state, they could be vehemently pro-gun.
Alaska chose the latter, thankfully, at least historically.
That doesn’t mean anti-gun Democrats aren’t trying to get gun control. Right now, they’re trying so hard to get a red flag law it’s almost funny.
The Alaska Democrats’ latest attempt to seize firearms comes with House Bill 89, introduced by Reps. Andy Josephson of Anchorage and Sara Hannan of Juneau. It will be heard in the House State Affairs Committee on Thursday at 3:13 pm.
HB 89 would implement a law that permits the government to seize firearms based on vague standards of evidence.
The state could implement ex-parte hearings to take away a citizen’s Second Amendment rights without due process, NRA says. The individuals would then bear the burden of having to petition the court for the return of their property once the order has been vacated, adding cost to the citizen to get property back from seizure.
Now, here’s why it’s not that funny.
The legislature’s makeup actually somewhat favors the Democrats right now. They have control of the Senate outright, and while Republicans have more seats than Democrats in the House, two Republicans and five independents give the majority coalition a slim majority.
In theory, that should mean that the worst case scenario is a tie in the House if the party members hold to their party’s historical stances on guns and all the independents side with the Democrats, but that’s not something anyone should hold their breath for. I can’t find how Alaska handles ties, but a tie isn’t exactly what you want to see.
Some of the independents and even Democrats may have pro-gun sensibilities, which may work toward the benefit of gun rights here, but again, don’t hold your breath.
Even some who like to bill themselves as pro-gun have expressed support for red flag laws like this. That means anything can happen here.
We’ve spilled a lot of digital ink on why red flag laws are terrible ideas, and nothing has changed. In fact, we’ve seen absolutely nothing supporting them beyond states touting how many times they’re used, as if that’s some useable metric in and of itself beyond us knowing just how many people had their rights infringed without any real due process of law.
There’s no chance Alaska gets it right, either, because that’s not physically possible. There’s no world where a red flag law can be done “right.” Not really.
But some people think there is, and if there are enough of them in the legislature up that way, well, Alaska won’t be as pro-gun has they have been. It’ll also likely open the flood gates for other gun control measures if folks aren’t careful.
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