Seattle Washington – One year ago, Washington State passed a “red flag” law. These extreme risk protection orders (ERPO) allow the police to seize guns from lawful owners for up to one year with the court’s approval. The gun owner does not get to testify on their own behalf before the order is granted. The Washington State law is based on the California red flag law.

To date, Police in Seattle alone has seized 43 guns via ERPOs without due process. One incident involved a man with PTSD. The ERPO was filed by his neighbor who claimed to see the man brandishing his gun in the apartment building. Other than the one neighbor, no one else witnessed the brandishing

The NRA and Gun Owners of America are both against these “red flag” laws due to lack of due process. GOA refers to the ERPO as “gun confiscation orders.” Before the judge even grants the ERPO police can seize someone’s guns for up to 14 days further complicating the matter.

By the Seattle Police own admission, non-criminal acts constitute most of the granted ERPO’s. Of the 28 requests for a temporary ERPOs, the courts issued all of them. The courts only denied 2 ERPOs during the full hearing.

According to Gun Owners of America, it could cost up to $10,000 to fight against an ERPO. Couple this with the fact that any family member or neighbor can seek an ERPO the system is ripe for abuse.

An ex-roommate can also file for an ERPO up to one year after moving out which opens the door for revenge if the living situation didn’t work out. The lack of evidence needed for an ERPO is also something critics point to in their objection to these laws.

Another issue with the Washington State ERPOs is that the person who has the ERPO against them can only appeal the order once. After spending $10,000, an anti-gun judge could rule against the defendant leaving the person with no recourse. To date, not a single ERPO have been overturned in any of the states with Red Flag laws.

There are currently 22 red flag laws being considered across the country.