Mass shootings don’t have to happen
The promise of red flag laws
These days, when Americans express serious concerns about gun violence, they’re often referring to a very specific type—mass shootings. The seemingly random public outbursts of intense violence understandably cause a sense of horror and uncertainty that is felt equally by Americans across the board, including gun owners.
And with good reason. Since our last issue, the shooting in Perry, Iowa, claimed another victim, as the principal who shielded students from gunfire during a mass shooting at his school on January 4 passed away. Schools shouldn’t be dangerous. Neither should churches, dance halls, grocery stores, airports, bowling alleys, or bars, especially when there was a chance such danger could have been prevented.
97Percent’s research has shown that gun owners are largely receptive to red flag laws, also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), with due process, as a means to decrease mass shootings, as well as suicides and incidents of domestic violence. As Philip Courtney Hogan, founding member of Americans for Common Sense Gun Laws, writes in The Dallas Morning News:
“Several studies by behavioral scientists have shown that mass murderers commonly make their intentions known. Various studies have found that these warnings occur in anywhere from 44% to 93% of cases. But ERPOs work against those intentions. One study of California’s red flag laws showed that, ‘In 21 orders, the subject showed clear signs that they intended to commit a mass shooting and after the orders were issued, no mass shootings, suicides, or homicides occurred.’”
This past week, the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, was back in the news. A Department of Justice report found a ‘most significant failure’ with the police response, which a special grand jury convened by the Uvalde district attorney’s office will investigate. This unprecedented action is critical for accountability purposes and for improving law enforcement procedures in future active shooter events.
Yet, we have tools to help prevent these events in the first place. The many factors that lead to mass shootings must, of course, be addressed, but in the meantime, red flag laws take weapons out of the equation. As Eric Ruben, a professor at Southern Methodist University Law School, says, “[T]hese laws, though not perfect, might be able to prevent some of these horrific shootings. And people need to get educated on how to invoke them when there are red flags.”