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Extreme Risk Laws

    Solutions

    Extreme Risk Laws

    What does it solve?

    When a person is in crisis and considering harming themselves or others, family members and law enforcement are often the first people to see the warning signs. Extreme Risk laws, sometimes referred to as “Red Flag” laws, allow loved ones or law enforcement to intervene by petitioning a court for an order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns.

    Extreme Risk Laws Save Lives Report

    These laws can help de-escalate emergency situations. Extreme Risk laws are a proven way to intervene before gun violence—such as a gun suicide or mass shooting—takes more lives.

    If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK(8255), or text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line for free from anywhere in the US.

      Which states have Extreme Risk laws?

      Currently, 19 states and Washington D.C. have enacted Extreme Risk laws.

      Myth

      Extreme Risk laws violate due process protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

      Fact

      Extreme Risk laws allow a judge to temporarily remove a person’s access to guns when there is evidence that they pose a serious risk. They also provide due process protections that meet the standards set by the Supreme Court. Judges may enter an emergency short-term order after family or law enforcement gives evidence that the person poses an immediate risk to themselves or others. After notifying the person, the judge must hold a hearing within a short period of time before entering a final order. The person asking for the order must prove that the other person poses a serious risk to themselves or others. That person can challenge any evidence and make their case as to why an order should not be issued. And even orders entered after a full hearing have a limited duration, generally up to one year, and can only be extended if the court holds another hearing. Case law shows that Extreme Risk laws have and will continue to withstand due process challenges: an appeals court in Florida recently upheld Florida’s law in the face of a constitutional due process challenge.

      How it works

      Extreme Risk laws can de-escalate emergency situations.

      In many instances of gun violence, there are clear warning signs that the shooter posed a serious threat before the shooting. Extreme Risk laws give key community members a way to intervene before warning signs become tragedies. These laws allow immediate family members and law enforcement to petition a court for an order for the temporary removal of guns from dangerous situations. These orders are often known as extreme risk protection orders. If a court finds that a person poses a serious risk of injuring themselves or others with a firearm, that person is temporarily prohibited from having guns.

      Under current federal law, a person is barred from having guns only if they fall into one of several categories of prohibited persons. A person who displays warning signs that they’re considering suicide or engaging in a violent act, but who is not prohibited under federal law, would still be legally able to buy and possess guns. Extreme Risk laws help to fill this gap, protecting public safety and allowing people in crisis the chance to obtain the help they need.

      The mass shooter in the 2018 Parkland school shooting repeatedly displayed threatening behavior prior to the shooting. He was reported to law enforcement on more than one occasion. Following this tragedy, lawmakers across the country have sought to close this gap in their states. Since the beginning of 2018, 14 states and Washington DC have passed Extreme Risk laws, bringing the total number of states with these laws to 19.

      By the numbers

      Victories

      You might be wondering…

      1. 1 Who can request an Extreme Risk Protection Order?
      3. 2 Isn’t gun violence a mental health problem, which requires a mental health solution?

      Learn More

      Extreme Risk Laws Save Lives Resource
      Extreme Risk Protection Orders during COVID-19 Resource
      Myths and Facts about Extreme Risk Laws Resource
      Those Who Serve: Addressing Firearm Suicide Among Military Veterans Resource
      Firearm Suicide in the United States Resource
      The Rise of Firearm Suicide among Young Americans Resource
      Armed and Dangerous: How the Gun Lobby Enshrines Guns as Tools of the Extreme Right Resource
      90%

      Did you know?

      Extreme Risk laws can help prevent deaths by firearm suicide. Among commonly used methods of self-harm, firearms are by far the most lethal, with a fatality rate of approximately 90 percent.

      Conner A., Azrael D., and Miller M., “Suicide Case-Fatality Rates in the United States, 2007 to 2014: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.” Annals of Internal Medicine. (2019). https://doi.org/10.7326/M19-1324