(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) Leftist propaganda outfit PolitiFact has attempted to police the narrative surrounding the so-called “red flag” laws currently under consideration in Congress.
In advance of Congressional debate over the allegedly “bipartisan” gun control scheme, the “fact-checker” site has attempted to brand as “misinformation” any suggestion that red flag laws eliminate due process and weaponize “grudges” between spouses and neighbors, according to the Washington Examiner.
Beware of misinformation about red flag laws, including critics who say they lack due process, which is not accurate. Another false claim is that the laws allow people with a grudge, such as an ex-spouse, to take guns away. https://t.co/6hY8VcICNR
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) June 14, 2022
“Beware of misinformation about red flag laws, including critics who say they lack due process, which is not accurate,” PolitiFact wrote in a Tweet that was lifted directly from a Poynter Institute guide for journalists covering the post-Uvalde push for gun control.
The Poynter Institute is PolitiFact’s parent organization, the Examiner reported.
Yet red flag laws are a particular bone of contention in the Senate, where “hours-long” meetings have been held in order to hash out the problems with such laws, according to Punchbowl News.
“The issues of the so-called ‘boyfriend loophole’ and red flag provisions still remain unresolved,” Punchbowl reported.
Punchbowl added that Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who has been the GOP’s chief gun control negotiator, is particularly concerned about the problem of ex-girlfriends lodging red-flag complaints as revenge against their former lovers.
Furthermore, Republicans want to ensure that states are allowed to opt-out of red-flag programs.
PolitiFact’s aim, therefore, is to shut down debate regarding due process concerns before the GOP’s concerns reach the public ear.
The Washington Examiner pointed to the testimony of the Cato Institute’s David Kopel, who has documented numerous cases in which due process was effectively suspended in red-flag scenarios.
“The fact-checking industry is already nothing more than a weapon to be used by liberals against people they disagree with, and PolitiFact is one of the worst offenders,” the Examiner concluded.