In June, Rep. Lucy McBath reintroduced the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act (FERPO) commonly referred to as “red flag laws,” to empower families and law enforcement to more effectively intervene to prevent gun violence, including suicides. It is quite common for individuals who ultimately commit gun violence to exhibit warning signs to their families or law enforcement, and under this new law, there would be a mechanism to petition the court for a temporary block on gun access. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia already have red flag laws in place, and the FERPO bill would replicate this known-to-be effective process at the federal level.
With Americans overwhelmingly in support of red flag laws, Representatives need to hear from their constituents that this commonsense approach to proactively prevent gun violence should be a top priority.