It's Red Flag Law Week
This special edition of Beyond Thoughts & Prayers focuses exclusively on red flag laws. Why? Because we’ve just released a study entitled Empowering Enforcement: Maximizing Red Flag Laws for Gun Violence Prevention. This comprehensive study examines the enforcement efficacy of red flag laws across states, the reasons why some states are struggling to enforce them, and the best practices they can adopt to improve implementation of this powerful tool to save lives.
Red flag laws, formally known as extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), allow law enforcement officers, and sometimes family members, healthcare workers, and others, to seek a court order to temporarily remove access to firearms if there is evidence a person may harm themselves or others. These laws are part of 97Percent’s policy roadmap, given the ample research demonstrating they can prevent gun suicides and mass shootings, as well as polls that show up to 81% of gun owners support them.
Red flag laws have been adopted by 21 states, and as we’ve frequently documented in this newsletter, recent tragedies have spurred other states to consider adopting them as well. Our study reveals significant variations in enforcement and effectiveness from state to state.
Two-thirds of the 21 states with existing laws on the books are enforcing them reasonably well, with 9 of those states doing a uniformly effective job.
Some best practices among states enforcing their red flag laws well include: establishing dedicated red flag units, often incorporating city attorneys; providing comprehensive training for law enforcement and other stakeholders; legislation that includes a search and seizure warrant, a clear definition of petitioners, and a mandate that courts be available 24/7 to receive petitions; and transparent reporting.
Among states struggling to enforce their red flag laws, barriers include: lack of training, concerns regarding due process, and flaws in the legislation that obstruct the ability to respond to threats.
“Our study underscores the need for a standardized approach to implementing red flag laws across all states. Gun owners tell us all the time to enforce the laws already on the books, so our focus is on supporting the effective enforcement of red flag laws to safeguard our communities and prevent tragedies.” —97Percent Executive Director Olivia Troye
PLEASE JOIN US!
We will brief our findings in a live virtual roundtable TOMORROW, April 18, at 12 noon EDT, featuring Joshua Horwitz and Shannon Frattaroli from Johns Hopkins University, which just launched a national red flag law resource center in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice. Also joining will be Christopher Carita, a former detective from the Ft. Lauderdale Police Threat Response Unit. For more information, visit www.97percent.us/redflag. We hope you’ll join us!