Gun Safety Laws Work…When They’re Done Right
On February 10, a rural community in British Columbia was shaken by tragedy. An armed Jesse van Rootselaar entered Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and killed five students and a member of the staff. Her mother and stepbrother were later found dead at a nearby home. Twenty-five others were injured, with two suffering life-threatening injuries. She then turned the gun on herself. The tragedy has shocked Canada and drawn international attention, with mass shootings being relatively uncommon in the country.
Less than a week later, another community was confronted by gun violence—this time in Rhode Island. On February 16, a shooting was carried out by Robert Dorgan (also known as Roberta Esposito) at a high school hockey game in the town of Pawtucket. Two victims, later identified as Dorgan’s ex-wife and adult son, were killed, and three other family members and friends of the shooter were hospitalized. The tragedy occurred just two months after the Brown University mass shooting, which took place about five miles away from the Dennis M. Lynch Arena.
Though they took place in two different countries, the context for these shootings was remarkably similar. In both, there was a policy in place that has the potential to prevent tragedy: Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), commonly known as red flag laws. But somehow, these cases slipped through the cracks. This failure can teach us a lot about what makes a good ERPO and what doesn’t. Let’s dive in.
The Legal Context
The U.S. has a uniquely robust gun culture and is one of only three countries with a constitutional guarantee on the right to bear arms. It might not come as much of a surprise, then, that the U.S. has some of the highest statistics globally in terms of both gun ownership and gun violence.
In Canada, where there is no constitutional right to bear arms, gun ownership is more strictly regulated. All firearms purchases require stringent background checks and licensing, and firearms must be safely stored by law. Despite these controls, gun ownership remains popular across the country. Canada’s rate of gun homicides per 100,000 people, is just 0.62 vs. the U.S.’s 4.52, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
The countries have a similar split when it comes to ERPOs, which allow for a temporary suspension of a person’s access to firearms when they are judged to be a danger to themself or others. Orders generally must be issued by a court and mandate the confiscation of a person’s firearms (and sometimes ammo) and a ban on new purchases.
Our 2024 research showed that ERPOs enjoy overwhelming support by gun owners across the nation, with this trend persisting across typical partisan and geographic divides. Despite this broad support, the U.S. has no federal red flag law, but an increasing number of states have established their own ERPOs in recent years. That includes Rhode Island, whose red flag law has been in place since 2018. Notably, only law enforcement can request a temporary order, which lasts up to 14 days. By contrast, Canada’s national ERPO law, which has been in place since 2023, allows anyone to request a temporary order that is valid for up to 30 days.
What Went Wrong?
An important question is whether in either case, people in the shooters’ lives could have plausibly obtained an ERPO. In order to obtain a temporary ERPO in Rhode Island, petitioners must provide evidence of, among other points, threats or acts of violence towards oneself or others, a history of mental health issues, and of course, access to firearms. Dorgan was a licensed firearm owner, giving her clear access to firearms, and her daughter has stated that she had “mental health issues.”
Dorgan had also made some concerning statements, saying on X that her politics were “to the right of Hitler” and had tattoos of Nazi symbols. However, it seems that her behavior never caused enough concern for an ERPO to be sought. And even if her family had thought to do so, the state’s limitation of petitions to law enforcement would have blocked them from requesting one independently.
The situation sheds light on how subtle design flaws or a lack of enforcement can cause well-intended policies to fail. And it isn’t just Rhode Island’s red flag law that suffers from these issues. Back in 2024, our research found varying levels of effectiveness and enforcement of ERPOs across 21 states. While there have been clear cases of ERPO success in the state, there have also been cases of failure. And more broadly, analysts have raised concerns in nearby states that these laws are unevenly applied between police departments. While we can’t be certain that this was the source of the failure in Pawtucket, it’s worth considering whether the state has some work to do to keep its red flag law at its most optimal.
In Tumbler Ridge, the shooter had in fact been subject to an ERPO in the past. Van Rootselaar had a long, documented history of mental illness, resulting in a number of visits from law enforcement and a stint in a psychiatric ward. Meanwhile, her social media posts revealed her interest in firearms and past instances of violence, including trying to start a fire in her family home. Her online activity became increasingly concerning as time progressed, eventually including comments celebrating shootings and hosting a game simulating carrying out one. Two years ago, Van Rootselaar’s behavior caught enough attention from law enforcement to prompt the removal of firearms from her home. But they were eventually returned by request of someone in the family—a detail which has drawn scrutiny in the aftermath of the shooting.
With that in mind, the main failure in this case seems to be one of oversight. While her more concerning online activity has only come to light after the shooting, law enforcement had enough evidence to block her access to firearms in the past. The fact that they didn’t identify the ongoing threat in the two years that followed suggests that there may be gaps in the way that ongoing issues are monitored and addressed.
What Can We Learn?
What these stories make clear is that ERPOs only work when they are properly designed, funded, and implemented. At the design stage, the Rhode Island case exposes the relative weakness of red flag laws when only law enforcement can request an ERPO. The people closest to someone—most often their immediate family members—are best positioned to notice when something is wrong. That’s part of the reason that ERPOs, which in most places allow family members to petition, make so much sense. The tragedy in Pawtucket makes the importance of this provision clearer than ever.
On that note, awareness is equally important. People can’t seek help if they don’t know that help is there. The Pawtucket shooting isn’t the first time an ERPO has gone unused; this was also true of the tragedy at the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis last August. Both of these cases call for a consistent effort to inform the public and law enforcement officers about ERPOs and how to use them.
Finally, the red flag laws in both Canada and Rhode Island have a second level of protection by which guns can be removed for a longer period. In Canada, this can result in a suspension of access to guns for up to five years, and even when this is not sought, a new temporary ERPO can be obtained. Van Rootselaar’s case calls attention to the importance of monitoring a person’s situation after an order ends and taking action where necessary. The infrastructure for further action is already there—it just needs to be used.
Of Special Note
Both shooters in the cases cited here were transgender women. Under the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice has sought to identify trans people as mentally ill and to deprive them of their 2nd Amendment rights on that basis. While the proposal has been widely criticized by pro-gun rights groups, the administration is reportedly continuing to look for legal ways to ban gun ownership for trans people. These cases may provide the DOJ with further incentive to pursue that aim. Stay tuned.
At 97Percent, we believe ERPO laws can—and do—save lives. But their effectiveness depends on adequate law enforcement training and public awareness. Officers must be skilled and confident in navigating the process, not operating out of confusion or fear. And families and communities must understand what ERPOs are, how to access them, and that temporary intervention is not punishment.
For more information on our law enforcement training and public education programs, please visit our website at 97Percent.us.