The Intended Unintended Consequences of “Red Flag” Laws

by Michael G. Sabbeth, Esq.

photo from National Review Online August 26, 2019

The cliché phrase ‘unintended consequences’ is often an exercise in deceit and or incompetent thinking. The consequences of a policy illuminate its intentions. Good intentions are morally meaningless, and can be perverse, if they do not lead to virtuous consequences. Sometimes a policy’s consequences are so obviously egregious that the claim of good intentions is manifestly fraudulent. The most rational conclusion is that the policy’s malevolent consequences were intended as the price its advocates were willing to inflict in an alleged service to a higher cause. Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs) and Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), generically known as ‘Red Flag’ laws, are such policies that luminously disclose their intent.

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TO SAVE SCHOOL CHILDREN, COLORADO GETS F.A.S.T.E.R.-

by Michael Sabbeth

https://thewoma.org/2019/02/faster-program-response-to-school-shootings/

Writing this article evoked pain and optimism. Maybe you’ve seen the bodies. I interviewed people who have. Likely you’ve seen photos of the bodies. You’ve certainly read about them; seen media coverage of the schools, the police, the emergency treatment personnel. Doubtless you’ve seen the volcanic eruption of infinite pain that pervades every fiber of the human soul. No doubt you’ve seen the piles of teddy bears, flowers, candles and cards placed on the school grounds, gestures of anguish caused by another school shooting, and then the question raised so predictably it’s become a cliché: How can we prevent these killings?

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If You Brush Your Teeth, You Should Support Hunting

by Michael G. Sabbeth

My writing in this elegant magazine shows my unceasing search for ways to illuminate the virtues of hunting and to defend it. One way is to ask good questions. Here’s a good one:  Do you brush your teeth? I show how asking that question can defend hunting. Instructors in Uvalde, Texas, at the Texas Hunter Education Instructors Association Conference last May, asked me how to respond to anti-hunters  when confronted with aggressive questions such as: “How can you kill those innocent beautiful animals?” and “You trophy hunters are about vanity and don’t respect the animal.” (for a full discussion on trophy hunting, please see my article: https://thehonorablehunter.com/index.php/articles/224-trophy-hunting-the-use-and-abuse-of-terminology)

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