A national gun-rights group wrote New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday asking him to confiscate firearms belonging to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer because of his comments about Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Erich Pratt, the senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, sent the open letter, along with an application for a Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order — also known as a “red flag” order, to Cuomo.
“We understand that Senator Schumer is, like you, a member of the Democrat Party, and, like you, is a powerful New York politician. Moreover, he actively supported YOUR New York Red Flag law, as well as adoption of such laws elsewhere. Do these factors give him immunity for violating the law you improvidently signed?” Pratt wrote.
New York’s “red flag” law went into effect in August.
In the letter, Pratt suggested that if Cuomo doesn’t seek a red flag order against Schumer, he will demonstrate “that gun laws are intended to be used selectively to suppress minorities, the politically powerless, and political opponents.”
Gun Owners of America’s letter appears to be aimed at highlighting the purported absurdity of “red flag” legislation.
Most gun rights activists strongly oppose “red flag” laws, arguing they can be abused to infringe on citizens’ Second Amendment rights.
“Red flag” laws, sometimes called extreme risk protection order laws, allow police or people with close ties to a gun owner to petition courts for orders that require individuals deemed a threat to temporarily surrender their firearms.
According to Pratt, Schumer’s recent remarks constitute “probable cause” for an order under state law.
“Further, in determining whether grounds exist for issuance of a red flag order, ‘the court shall consider any relevant factors, including … a threat … directed toward …another person,'” Pratt wrote in the letter, citing state law.
“You will pay the price”
Schumer criticized Kavanaugh and Gorsuch during an abortion-rights rally Wednesday outside the Supreme Court, warning them not to change or weaken the Court’s 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision.
“I want to tell you Gorsuch, I want to tell you Kavanaugh — you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” Schumer told the cheering crowd.
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Numerous people condemned Schumer for his comments, including President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts took the unusual step of issuing a statement rebuking Schumer.
“Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous,” the statement said.