Yesterday we warned you about HB 2523, which would allow your (even distant) relatives, roommates, and former intimate partners to take your gun (without your knowledge) and give it to a gun dealer for “safekeeping” if they believe you are a risk to yourself or others.

Unfortunately, that’s not the only proposed law that would allow you to be deprived of your rights and property without due process.

Another variation on this theme is SB 868, which would give the same broad category of people the right to ask a judge to take away your gun if they believe you are an “extreme risk.”

The judge would then hold a hearing in which your accuser can present decades-old “evidence,” and if they grant the order, armed law enforcement agents will show up at your door to search for and confiscate your private property.

And you would know nothing about it until those officers showed up at your door. You wouldn’t have the right to present evidence at a hearing, confront your accuser, or have a jury hear the case before you are stripped of your rights. There would be no mental health evaluation by a qualified professional. The opinion of two people (an accuser and a judge) would determine your ability to exercise your rights.

Beyond the glaring constitutional issues, this bill doesn’t do anything to help someone who really is in crisis. There is no outreach, no counseling, no evaluation -- just a threat of four cold prison cell walls for non-compliance.

The “Extreme Risk” in this case is SB 868 itself!

We must kill this bill. Contact your legislator today and let them know that you strongly oppose this attempt to deprive people of their property and fundamental rights without due process.

And then call the author, Sen. Boquist, at 503-986-1712 and ask that he remove the bill!