The Effects of Extreme Risk Protection Orders
Rand | Published on 12/23/2021
Extreme risk protection order (ERPO) laws, sometimes known as gun violence restraining order or “red-flag” laws, are risk-based, temporary, and preemptive protective orders that authorize the removal of firearms from individuals determined to be at risk for committing gun violence against others or themselves.[1] With ERPO laws in place, law enforcement, family members, or medical professionals can petition a court to temporarily restrict a person’s access to firearms if they believe that person is at risk of hurting him or herself or others. ERPO laws differ from prohibited purchaser regulations that prevent specific groups of individuals—such as those with a criminal record, those with a history of domestic abuse, or those who have been dishonorably discharged from the military—from owning, purchasing, or possessing firearms. They also differ from laws that require the removal of firearms from prohibited possessors (see our analysis of surrender of firearms by prohibited possessors)