Ross Kaminsky Show, Mike Coffman, August 12, 2019
Station: KHOW, 630 am
Show: Ross Kaminsky Show
Guests: Coffman, Mike
Date: August 12, 2019
Topics: Red Flag Laws, El Paso Walmart Mass Shooting, Dayton Mass Shooting, Universal Background Checks, Due Process, Second Amendment, Commerce Clause, Federal Law Enforcement, Gun Control, 72-Hour Rule, Senate Cloture, Expanded Background Checks, NRA, National Rifle Association
HOST ROSS KAMINSKY [00:00:00] All right, let’s move on to some policy stuff. We’ve got about two-and-a-half, three minutes left, here. And I’m asking you this now, kind of in the context of your experience in Congress. We’ve seen, after the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, a bunch of conversation from the president of the United States, some noise from Mitch McConnell, some things from Lindsey Graham — particularly on red flag. What it seems like the Republicans are talking about, or acting like they’re talking about, is some kind of support for expanding background checks, and some kind of support for — probably more like nudging states toward doing their own red flag rather than a federal red flag law, which would be a terrible idea. What do you think is really going on there? And what do you think the outcome will be, if anything?
GOP CANDIDATE FOR AURORA MAYOR & FORMER CONGRESSMAN FROM COLORADO’S CD-6, MIKE COFFMAN [00:00:48] Boy, it’s always – it’s so hard to say. Colorado has universal background checks. We have a red flag law, although ours certain–. When when the president talks about red flag law, he isn’t — believe me –he is not thinking about the model that Colorado has, that has a strong bias against the individual in terms of due process, and I think is wide open to abuse. There are other states, like Indiana, who have much tighter laws when it comes to red flag laws. I think there is — the Cato Institute has done great work in terms of what due process ought to look like, in terms of making sure that you protect the rights of the individual, protect the Second Amendment. I think it can be done. I don’t — what my understanding of this legislation right now is that it merely assists states and gives grants to them who want to adopt a red flag law. And it would be nice if the president were more clear on that, because I would question the constitutionality of a federal mandate on a red flag law. And then, if it was constitutional under the Commerce Clause, then I think it would be horribly done. I mean, it would be done by federal law enforcement, federal courts — the last thing we want.
KAMINSKY [00:02:04] Yeah, that would be a disaster. And I think most people, especially listeners to this show, understand that when this country was founded that the framers did not think of the federal government as having any kind of important police function in the United States of America. That was meant to be state, local, whatever — not federal. Very few things are supposed to be federal crimes. Far too many things are federal crimes these days that shouldn’t be. I’ve got about a minute, so — or a little less — so just summarize it for me, what you think if anything will come out of Congress. Will they pass anything that — whoever ‘they’ are — will call ‘gun control.’
COFFMAN [00:02:45] Boy, you know what, I hate to say it, but sometimes with the president you have to have at least a 72-hour rule, that sometimes he’ll say — and he’s done this before, where he’s come out on something, relative on gun control, and then backed away from it. And so, if he’s really serious, if he’s willing to put his political capital down on this issue and follow through on it, I think he could get something passed. I think it’s gonna be tough on cloture to get those 60 votes, but I think those two issues on the table, I think he might be able to get something passed. What would help on the red flag law, even thought it’s not a mandate, but it would help if they’d–. I don’t think there is any criteria that’s all that firm in there, but it would be help[ful] if they would put some criteria that would that would — in terms of due process — to say, “For states that adopt a version that looks like this, we’re going to support it.” I think it’s just written in a very general context that says, “If you adopt a red flag law — one that looks like Colorado — we’re going to support you. Whatever you do, we’re going to support you.” Ugh! So, I think that’s going to be problematic.
KAMINSKY [00:03:55] We have the worst red flag law in the country, here in Colorado. And I think the question remains: will the Trump base go along with any increase in quote/unquote ‘gun control?’ Will they go along with more expanded background checks? Will they go along with any federal involvement in red flag? Or will they revolt? And, you know, President Trump seems to think they’ll stick with him rather than the NRA or their own, you know, Second Amendment rights. And I don’t know if that’s true. I’ve got to leave it there, Mike.
