Buckeye Reporter

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, alongside 18 other state attorneys general, has voiced opposition to a new federal program advocating for the enforcement of “red flag” gun-confiscation laws. In a letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the attorneys general express concerns about the National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center, launched by the Department of Justice in March.

Yost emphasized in a news release from his office that "The solution to gun violence is not more bureaucracy, and it is certainly not parting otherwise law-abiding men and women from their right to self-defense."

The attorneys general raised various issues with the ERPO Resource Center, highlighting how the program supports laws that enable the suspension of Second Amendment rights without proper due process. They also questioned the legality of the program's creation and its partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, citing concerns about objectivity.

Yost and his counterparts urged the DOJ to terminate the program, asserting that "states don’t need ‘help’ of this sort from the federal government. We know exactly how to protect our citizens while appropriately respecting Second Amendment rights."

The joint statement was issued by the attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, in addition to Ohio's Dave Yost.