Extreme Risk Laws
Extreme Risk Laws
What is the problem?
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.
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 or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org/chat to chat with a counselor from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress anywhere in the US.
Myth & Fact
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.
All Resources
Extreme Risk Laws
All Resources
At the Forefront of Gun Safety: Removing Illegal Guns
While gun violence continues to spike across the country, illegal gun removal programs provide real hope about progress on new solutions.
Policy Paper
Cómo detener los tiroteos y la violencia armada en las escuelas: Un plan para mantener seguros a los estudiantes
Necesitamos acciones significativas para mantener nuestras escuelas y las comunidades circundantes seguras en los Estados Unidos.
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A Continuum of Gun Access Interventions for Preventing Gun Suicide
Gun access interventions exist on a continuum, a chain of actions that can be taken depending on the severity of the crisis.
Fact SheetGun Suicide in Cities: The Lesser-Known Side of City Gun Violence
Rates of people who die by gun suicide in cities are on the rise, but, until now, a dearth of city-level data leaves it often overlooked.
Report
How To Stop Shootings and Gun Violence in Schools: A Plan to Keep Students Safe
We need meaningful actions to keep our schools safe, actions that address what we know about gun violence in America’s schools.
Report
The Rise of Firearm Suicide Among Young Americans
Firearm suicide is having a devastating impact on American youth, particularly during COVID-19. But suicide can be prevented.
Report
How Can We Prevent Gun Violence in American Schools?
School leaders and policymakers must support and implement strong gun safety laws and school-based interventions.
Fact Sheet
The Impact of Gun Violence on Latinx Communities
Latinx people in the United States are dying from gun violence every day and at rates disproportionate to their white peers.
Fact SheetEl impacto de la violencia con armas de fuego en las comunidades latinx
Cada año, 3,800 personas latinx mueren de violencia con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos.
Fact SheetFirearm Suicide By Congressional District
There are 52 firearm suicides on average per congressional district each year, yet there is district-level variation across the country.
Report
Armed and Dangerous: How the Gun Lobby Enshrines Guns as Tools of the Extreme Right
For decades, the gun lobby has enabled extremists to access guns through its opposition of common sense gun laws.
Report
Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ+ Bias and Guns are Taking the Lives of Countless LGBTQ+ People
Hate, Violence, and Stigma against the LGBTQ+ Community Bias-motivated crimes are a real, frightening problem in the United States, and LGBTQ+ people continue to be…
Fact Sheet
Extreme Risk Protection Orders during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased social isolation, fear, despair, and anxiety, leading to heightened risks of suicide. For someone in distress, access to a firearm…
Fact Sheet
Extreme Risk Laws Save Lives – Extreme Risk Laws By State
StatePolicy NameEffective Date1The effective date is the date the law first took effect in the state. The law may have been…
AppendixExamples of How Extreme Risk Laws Save Lives
These stories illustrate the importance of Extreme Risk legislation in removing firearms from dangerous situations.
AppendixExtreme Risk Laws Save Lives
Extreme Risk laws, or “red flag” laws, empower family or police to intervene and temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns.
Fact Sheet
Those Who Serve: Addressing Firearm Suicide Among Military Veterans
Our country’s veterans are at a heightened risk of suicide, and firearms are the prevailing method of suicide among veterans.
Fact Sheet
Firearm Suicide in the United States
Firearm suicide is preventable, and addressing it is an essential element of any strategy to reduce gun violence in America.
Fact Sheet
Five Ways to Enhance the Gun Violence Prevention Strategy in Your City
Cities that have sustained success preventing gun violence have deployed multi-disciplinary, community-involved approaches to response and prevention. Below are five steps that you can take…
Fact Sheet