The Hardest Part Of Red Flag Laws Isn’t Getting Them Passed – By Maggie Koerth (FiveThirtyEight) / Feb 17, 2023
A year ago, Democrats in the Michigan state Senate introduced a bill designed to create an extreme risk protection order law, or ERPO, in the state. Intended to help prevent gun suicides and mass shootings, ERPOs are sometimes called “red flag laws.” They’re basically a timeout for gun owners — a system for temporarily removing weapons from people or preventing them from purchasing them, usually for around a year — when they are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. Introducing an ERPO in Michigan probably seemed like a sure bet.
Widely supported by experts, ERPOs are one of the most popular types of gun laws out there. They’re favored by a majority of Americans, including a majority of Republicans and a majority of gun owners. Today, 19 states have some form of ERPO on the books. But Michigan — the site of America’s latest high-profile mass shooting — is not one of them.
Despite bipartisan appeal that has led to passage in eight states with divided governments and one, Florida, with a Republican-controlled government at the time of passage, ERPOs remain controversial. Opponents in Michigan told local news the laws violated the Bill of Rights. Even many of the states that do have them rarely use them. In the places where ERPOs already exist, experts and authorities told me that they’re learning that getting one passed and making it work requires trust — between gun owners and the government, law enforcement and the community, and researchers and the systems they’re trying to study.
CONTINUE > https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/michigan-shooting-red-flag-laws/
