OPINION (TheBlaze) – President Joe Biden’s administration is urging the Supreme Court to impose restrictions on the Fourth Amendment protections and permit what Forbes described as “warrantless gun confiscation.” The news comes at the same time the White House confirmed Biden will sign an executive order on gun control.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday for a case — Caniglia v. Strom — that will ultimately determine whether the “community caretaking” exception to the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against warrantless searches and seizures extends to private residences.
The case stems from a 2015 incident in which police deceptively seized firearms from a Rhode Island couple — Kim and Edward Caniglia — who had engaged in a heated argument.
Neither Kim nor Edward were ever accused of a crime, nor was either person ever deemed to be an imminent threat to themselves or others. Police argued they seized the firearms from the couple under the “community caretaking” exception to the Fourth Amendment.
The exception was established by the Supreme Court in a 1973 case. According to Forbes, the exception “was designed for cases involving impounded cars and highway safety, on the grounds that police are often called to car accidents to remove nuisances like inoperable vehicles on public roads.”
The court “went to special lengths to be clear that the community caretaking exception only extended to vehicles,” according to Law.com, even stating there is a “constitutional difference” between homes and vehicles. READ MORE
