Who'd have guessed that the push for red flag laws might be supported by the left because it gives them excuses to report people for arbitrary reasons?
Peter Grant notes that there are already threats to abuse red flag laws, with the attitude that, of course, anyone who wants a gun must be crazy.
While I'm not sure how to best nail down the details, I'm still have the overall attitude that people who cannot be trusted outside the confines of a prison or institution should be in those self-same institutions if you want to take away their reights to effectively defend themselves. And yes, there are edge cases - like those who are functionally or borderline retarded but not crazy - where I may have to reconsider my attitude, but then, at least in the states I've lived in, that could be covered under judicial orders to decree someone incompetent and appoint a guardian.
The problem of course, with such legalisms, is that all one has to do is change the law, but as the law stands right now, in most states it's a non-trivial process to have someone decreed incompetent, and not just a matter of filling out some paperwork or convincing a judge.
If anything, it may be a bit - and only a bit - too hard to get someone into an institution who needs it. The stigma and lifelong effective revocation of rights doesn't help people volunteer themselves either. That said, see again "well, we changed the law and since you want a gun, you're crazy."
