One Massachusetts lawmaker apparently wants to ignore the Fourth Amendment for the sake of ‘gun safety,’ proposing that police officers be allowed to enter homes without warrants to make sure that firearms are stored properly.
Swampscott Selectman Barry Greenfield proposed the idea last week, according to the Boston Herald. He argued that home checks for his town’s 600 licensed gun owners should be mandatory in order to ensure things like children’s safety.
State law requires that all firearms be kept “secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such weapon inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user.”
“We need the ability to enforce the state law,” Greenfield said.
Greenfield, who was elected in 2011 and serves as vice chair, said he has also discussed the matter with the town’s police chief, Ron Madigan.
But the story may have been overblown, Greenfield told Red Alert Politics. He expressed in an email that he was simply asking questions about ways in which the current law could be enforced.
“I have no interest on infringing on anyone’s rights or any amendments in the bill of rights,” he told Red Alert.
Greenfield added that he and his family have received threatening calls and emails. He condemned these attacks, saying he was merely trying to engage in civil discussion.
” I never asked if police could be given permission to search and seize without a warrant,” Greenfield clarified. “Rather, I simply asked for an expert opinion on whether an existing state law can be legally enforced.”
Selectman Glenn Kessler said the proposal should be discussed with the police chief, the Swampscott legal counsel and the general public before any action is taken, according to the local Patch. Kessler noted that civil liberties issues were at play.
“I don’t think what Selectman Greenfield said was right, or legal and I do not support him with this issue,” Kessler wrote to Red Alert Politics in an email.
He said the town doesn’t need any more laws, since there are enough at the federal and state levels. Kessler also told Red Alert he will fight Greenfield proposal, though he hopes the Selectman will “withdraw or table the discussion.”
The Fourth Amendment guarantees people will be protected from “unreasonable searches and seizures” and that warrants will only be issued with “probable cause.”
(h/t TheBlaze)
