Constitutional Law
Aug. 13, 2019
Red flag laws aren’t a substitute for more meaningful regulation
After the two most recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, President Donald Trump suggested that he might support federal legislation to encourage red flag laws. But while they are a constitutional way to decrease gun violence, they are not enough.
Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law
UC Berkeley School of Law
Erwin's most recent book is "Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism." He is also the author of "Closing the Courthouse," (Yale University Press 2017).
"Red flag laws" are a constitutional way to decrease gun violence, but they are not nearly enough. After the two most recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, President Donald Trump -- a strong foe of gun control efforts -- suggested that he might support federal legislation to encourage red flag laws. Such an effort by the federal government would do relatively little and certainly not be a substitute for meaningful, effective gun control.
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