WASHINGTON – Iowa’s Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Randy Feenstra joined a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, demanding the full removal of a “red flag” provision in H.R. 4350, the House National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), during the conference committee process.
The letter expresses deep concern that if Sec. 529 of the NDAA were to be enacted, the Second Amendment rights of U.S. military servicemembers would be violated by allowing military judges and magistrates to issue military court gun confiscation orders. Such orders could be issued on an ex parte basis, without the servicemember even being present in court to defend themselves.
The members wrote: “…Even more concerning, under this provision, such an order could be issued by a military court on an ex parte basis – meaning the order could be issued without the servicemember even being present in court to defend themselves. We believe this is a serious breach of due process that demands your full attention.
“…Every single day, brave American servicemembers serve in harm’s way to defend our nation, our way of life, and the very constitutional rights that Sec. 529 would erode. This dangerous provision must be excluded from the final package,” the letter continues.
“I am strongly opposed to “red flag laws,” which are unconstitutional laws that violate the due-process rights of gun owners. I am opposed to the inclusion of these provisions in the NDAA and it is imperative that we remove them from the NDAA before the House votes on this legislation again,” Miller-Meeks said in a released statement. “I voted for the NDAA with the understanding that any possible ‘red flag’ provisions will be removed from the final version of the bill. If they are not removed, I will not vote for the bill when it returns to the House for final passage. I fully expect that the red flag provisions will be eliminated in the final version of the NDAA, and I look forward to voting on a final version of the bill that funds our military and protects the due-process rights of our servicemembers.”
Read the full letter below:
