Extreme risk protection order laws (ERPO), or red flag laws, generally allow certain individuals such as law enforcement officers or family members to petition a court for a temporary order that prohibits an at-risk individual from purchasing and possessing firearms. The ERPO process is patterned after the domestic violence order process because domestic violence orders exist in every state and have largely been upheld as constitutional. The behavioral risk factors that a judge typically considers in an ERPO case include patterns or recent threats and acts of violence, dangerous past behavior with guns, substance abuse, and recent firearms or ammunition acquisition.

Advocates say that in 2022 alone, over 46,000 people lost their lives to guns in America - and nearly 27,000 of those deaths were firearm suicides. Firearm suicide attempts result in death a staggering 90% of the time, compared to just 3% percent for other common methods, like intentional drug misuse. The presence of a gun turns what is frequently an impulsive act — usually not repeated if the person survives — into an almost always fatal act. People who choose a firearm over other methods typically do not have the opportunity or ability to summon help or reconsider. By temporarily removing firearms or making them more difficult to access for individuals in the midst of a crisis, those with suicidal ideation are more likely to survive and get a second chance at life. That second chance is critical since about 90% of people who make a suicide attempt and survive do not ultimately go on to die by suicide later in life. They claim this is why laws like extreme risk protection orders are so important.

Pending Legislation: H.R.4252 - Extreme Risk Protection Order Expansion Act of 2025
Sponsor: Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA)
Status: House Committee on the Judiciary
Chair: Rep. Jim Jordan (OH)

• I oppose reforming current red flag laws policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Mike Johnson (LA).
• I support state, tribal, and local efforts to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others by:
  
  1.) Establishing a federal grant program, administered by the Attorney General, to provide funding to states, Indian tribes, and local governments to implement and enforce ERPOs.
  
  2.) Amending federal firearms regulations to include people subject to court-ordered ERPOs in the list of those prohibited from possessing or receiving firearms.
  
  3.) Mandating that ERPOs issued in one state or tribal jurisdiction be recognized and enforced in other states and tribal jurisdictions.
  
  4.) Requiring that ERPOs can only be issued after a hearing where the individual has received actual notice and had an opportunity to participate.
  
  And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Jim Jordan (OH) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.