Dear Editor:

Liz Cheney, along with 13 Republican representatives and 15 Republican senators, voted to pass the “Protecting Americans From Gun Violence Act of 2022,” prompted by the killing of 19 grade school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I almost cried my eyes out and prayed extensively for the families of those children and teachers who lost their lives. That said, had law enforcement taken immediate action, rather than wait for an hour to kill the murderer of those children and teachers, many lives could have been spared.

Subsequent to the time when the nation was torn by the loss of those children and adults in Uvalde, there were scores of people who were killed in mass shootings in Chicago, Illinois, New York City, Sacramento, California, Buffalo, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Harlem to name a few — they barely made television news, if at all. Those killings were just as tragic as the Uvalde school shootings but raised few eyebrows. Why? Because the Uvalde shootings involved second, third, and fourth graders and garnered the sympathy of much of our nation.

As a result of the Uvalde shooting, virtually every Democrat and a few Republicans saw an opportunity to enact legislation to attempt to “prevent” such shootings in the future. So, what did they do? They put some restrictions on the age at which people under 21 could obtain guns, modified background check procedures, and instituted a “Red Flag Law” that has the potential to create serious problems for law abiding citizens — and good old Liz Cheney went right along with the other 13 Republican representatives in passing the bill.

What does a Red Flag provision do? First, it enables anyone who thinks you are a concern or potentially dangerous to go to law enforcement and petition a state court for a preliminary hearing (without you). Following the hearing, law enforcement is given a warrant to search and seize your gun(s) and the court holds another hearing for you to fight the claim against you. Finally, if you are successful, you get your gun(s) back.

Is this Red Flag provision consistent with our United States Constitution guarantee of “due process” of our rights under Articles II (The Right to Keep and Bear Arms), Article IV (Freedom From Unreasonable Search and Seizure), Article V (Rights of Persons Accused of Crimes) or other provisions in our Constitution and its amendments? I think NOT!

I’m sorry, but because of her actions to approve any law that violates my liberty and freedoms under our Constitution and its amendments, Liz Cheney does not represent me.

Please let your voices be heard on Aug. 16, and let Liz Cheney know that her behavior in the Jan. 6, congressional hearings and her vote to approve the “Protecting Americans From Gun Violence Act of 2022,” is not wanted — especially in Wyoming which has the highest number of guns per capita of any state in the union. I don’t believe that anyone who lives in Virginia and merely has a home address in Jackson Hole for political purposes can truly represent the people of Wyoming.

Allan Knopp

Powell