Ten years ago Ben Goeser was shot to death in a Tennessee restaurant by a man who had been stalking his wife.
Now his widow Nikki is speaking out against so-called “red flag” laws allowing authorities to confiscate guns without due process of law.
“I’m trying to educate people about the dangers of red-flag laws,” Nikki tells The Washington Times. “A lot of people seem to be for them, but there’s a lot that the everyday citizen doesn’t think about. I think red-flag laws completely ignore due process and violate due process rights.”
Nikki was a concealed carry permit holder but was forced to leave her gun in her car when she and her husband entered a Nashville bar, where he was a karaoke disc jockey.
Guns were prohibited in the bar, even for those with government permits.
They were followed inside by Hank Wise, who was sexually obsessed with Nikki.
Wise did not obey the “gun-free zone.” When the Goesers asked him to leave he opened fire on Ben, killing him.
Goeser was deeply depressed about her husband’s death, something which could land her on a “red flag” list for a confiscation raid, even though mental health professionals say depression does not make someone a violent risk.
“Right now I’m just trying to educate them. A lot of people, they don’t think about these things,” she said. “You tell them a personal story and how it could impact you, and a light bulb goes off: ‘Oh, I never thought about that.’”
While the mental health profession generally attracts politically liberal people, most mental health professionals oppose gun bans that make blanket assumptions about mental health.
There is also no evidence “red flag” laws stop crimes. Declines in crimes attributed to state “red flag” laws follow national trends, which show gun crime at near-record lows despite more privately-owned guns than ever.
Goeser is also campaigning against “gun-free zones,” which are often shooting galleries for criminals.
“If businesses are not going to actively do something very real to help protect people, then let people protect themselves,” Goeser tells the Times. “If these places where bad guys can simply walk right in off the street and bring any kind of tool in to harm people, and there’s no security, let people protect themselves.”
AAN Staff
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