Red flag laws are increasingly being used to protect gun owners in crisis

In Washington, state legislators have passed an innovative measure that would allow individuals to suspend their own gun rights. The bill was started as a proactive measure for those experience mental health issues to be able to prevent themselves from harming themselves in the future. While they’re still working on publicizing the new measure, those that do know about it simply have to fill out a short form at any count clerk’s office – the rest is taken care of within 24 hours.

A public-education campaign to enlist gun owners in suicide prevention work by first informing them of the problem's scope has spread to programs in 21 states. Although the campaign's ultimate effects on suicide rates are not known, it has at least spurred gun-rights advocates to action, with safety and prevention messages spread through gun shows, retailers, trade groups, and gun ranges. The majority of gun deaths are suicides. Millions of guns have been sold during the pandemic and social-justice protests, elevating suicide risks. Safety measures include gun locks and having friends remove guns from homes.

Around the country, a dozen states have passed “red flag” gun laws. These laws allow officials to temporarily take away legally owned guns from individuals who are deemed either at-risk of suicide, or a danger to others. Colorado is the most recent state to introduce a similar law to legislation, and if passed would allow law enforcement to initially seize guns for 14 days while a judge hears the case.

In the wake of high-profile shootings, proposals such as banning assault weapons gain momentum. But there are solutions few national politicians are looking at that take a very different tack.

In the Czech Republic, people pursuing gun ownership must pass a health clearance, a background check, and a 40-minute, 30-question exam. If they get that far, potential gun owners must then prove they can handle and shoot a weapon safely and accurately. As a result, the country hasn’t had a mass shooting since 2019 and had seven gun-related homicides last year.

An alliance between health professionals and gun owners has increased suicide-prevention education and training through multiple initiatives in many states. Groups like Washington’s Safer Homes and Forefront Suicide Prevention ground their message in problem-solving rather than threats to restrict gun owners’ rights. Backed by data showing the deadly correlation between gun ownership and suicide deaths, these groups have made peer counseling and suicide prevention more common components of gun safety education, and have spread gun-storage devices and strategies much more widely through gun owner circles.

"Voluntary storage" of guns is a growing movement that seeks to reduce gun suicides while avoiding political clashes with gun-rights advocates by instead promoting safety without government coercion. The Means Matter Campaign, Gun Shop Project, and a number of other private programs take what has long happened informally – friends disarming friends to prevent tragedy during a crisis – and promotes such practices as a public-health response. While research quantifying its effects is scant, anecdotes abound of people at risk being talked into surrendering their guns temporarily.

For individuals wanting to store their guns outside of their homes, they can now find a space using the Colorado Gun Storage Map. The interactive tool was developed in collaboration between the Colorado School of Public Health, the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the Colorado Safety Coalition, with the goal of helping those in crisis situations find spaces like law enforcement agencies and special storage facilities to store their firearms.

In Utah, the Northeastern Counseling Center had a booth at a local gun show to give away gun safety devices and provide information on suicide prevention. The booth, which has made a few stops at public events, is just one response to the alarmingly high suicide rates in northeastern Utah. It’s part of a larger, statewide shift that includes legislation to create programs that respond to mental health concerns and bolsters firearm safety.

Sacramento is implementing a program developed in 2011 in Richmond, Calif., that showed success curtailing gun violence among young men caught up in gangs or potential shootings. They get numerous social services and mentoring from men previously incarcerated. Stipends are a controversial part of the program, but a review of the Richmond program in 2015 found most participants were still alive and had not suffered a gun related injury, or been arrested for gun-related activity.