Extreme Risk Laws
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.
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.
Featured Resources
Promising Approaches for Implementing Extreme Risk Laws: A Guide for Practitioners and Policymakers
This guide details the best available practices and promising approaches to effective implementation of extreme risk laws.
Guide to Using Extreme Risk Orders to Save Lives
This guide presents the state of play in the states with Extreme Risk laws and aims to lift up examples of effective implementation.
Extreme 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.
Examples of How Extreme Risk Laws Save Lives
These stories illustrate the importance of Extreme Risk legislation in removing firearms from dangerous situations.
All Resources
Extreme Risk Laws
All Resources
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 SheetExtreme Risk Protection Orders during COVID-19
Extreme Risk Protection Orders should be classified as essential court proceedings during the pandemic.
Fact Sheet
Extreme Risk Laws Save Lives – Extreme Risk Laws By State
Learn which states have Extreme Risk Laws and how they work.
AppendixCity Gun Violence Reduction Insight Portal
CityGRIP is an online clearinghouse of data-informed gun violence reduction strategies.
Data Tracker