SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED: New Class Action Lawsuit Challenges the Constitutionality of Red Flag Laws
Shane Trejo
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A class action lawsuit was filed in a New Jersey court last month to challenge the constitutionality of red flag laws that take away firearms from an individual deemed a threat without due process following an arbitrary judicial decree.
Albert J. Rescinio is a New Jersey attorney representing David Greco, a man whose firearm was seized under the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2018 after the law went into effect in September. He is arguing that red flag laws abrogate the constitutional rights of citizens who have not committed any crime.
“Why can’t you give people the opportunity to know what is going on? To give them the opportunity to be heard?” Rescinio said. “You are being deprived of your constitutional rights without a hearing, without being given the opportunity to know what is going on.”
Rescinio is petitioning the court of law to issue a preliminary injunction that would prevent the implementation of Extreme Risk Protection Orders across the state. The lawsuit has been filed against New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, and several local law enforcement agencies.
Scott Bach, who works as executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, is working on a legal challenge against red flag laws too.
“The system is rigged against the honest gun owner,” he said.
The New Jersey red flag law allows a law enforcement officer, relative, or household member to petition the state Supreme Court to take away an individual’s firearms, despite the fact that they have committed no crime. The judge simply has to determine there is “good cause” to remove the guns, and they are seized by police indefinitely.
Rescinio’s client, Greco was accused by authorities of posting anti-Semitic content online, which was used as the reason to take his rights. Police accuse of him of having contact with a mass shooter who killed 11 individuals at a Pittsburgh, PA synagogue last year, an allegation that he vehemently denies.
“I never at any time had any contact or communication whatsoever with the 2018 Pittsburgh Temple shooter, and I specifically stated that I thought what he had done was clearly wrong, disgraceful and horrible,” Greco said.
Despite his refutation of these charges, Camden County Superior Court Judge Edward McBride signed the order to confiscate his gun anyway. Cops showed up to take his firearm anyway via a no-knock search warrant.
“He was shocked. He was upset. He had no clue that they were going to be coming to his house,” Rescinio said. “It wasn’t like he was holding a cache of weapons or he had automatic firearms. He had one legal rifle. That was it.”
Although there is an appeals process, it is entirely at the discretion of the judge. The kritarchy ultimately determines whether or not Greco will ever be allowed to have his 2nd Amendment rights again, despite the fact that he stands accused of no crime.
Democrat lawmakers are applauding this heinous infringement upon Constitutional rights.
“(Families) can now ask a judge to intercede and remove the gun until that individual can be tested and be determined to be safe to themselves and others,” said State Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden), adding that the law is “really based around a mental health concern.”
If the class action lawsuit is ultimately successful, it could have ramifications that protect the 2nd Amendment not just in New Jersey, but also throughout the entire nation.
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