'Everytown For Gun Safety' Recommends Passing Red Flag Laws as Part of Its Comprehensive Plan

Everytown for Gun Safety developed an 8-point plan to protect children and communities from gun violence. That plan includes passing Red Flag laws. They consider them to be a critical intervention tool for preventing violent situations. According to the group: "These extreme risk protection orders, sometimes known as red flag orders or gun violence restraining orders, can be issued only after a specific legal determination is made that a person poses a serious threat to themselves or others. They also contain strong due process protections to ensure that a person’s rights are balanced with public safety. Once an order is issued, a person is required to relinquish any guns they have and is prohibited from buying new guns. This prohibition is temporary, generally lasting one year." When family or law enforcement are made aware that a student or another person is a risk to themselves or others, and that person has access to guns, they can go to a court and ask a judge for a civil restraining order. These Red Flag orders, commonly known as extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), can only be issued after a specific legal determination is made that a person poses a threat to themself or others. Under federal law, people with serious mental illness are not prohibited from owning a gun unless they have been involuntarily, psychiatrically hospitalized or have a court disposition related to mental illness (e.g., not guilty by reason of insanity). ERPOs differ from existing federal and state law because they allow for preventive action in the absence of a civil disposition or criminal conviction.