Extreme risk laws save lives
Maryland’s Extreme Risk Protective Order law turns 1 on Tuesday. I have watched the implementation of this law closely; I asked Del. Geraldine ValentinoSmith to introduce it, having lost both my dad and my 25-year-old son to suicide by gun.
Since the law’s passage, extreme risk protective orders have been issued by district courts in almost every Maryland county to temporarily remove firearms and prohibit the purchase of new ones by those who show signs they may harm themselves or others. In each case, the judge also weighed whether to order a mental health evaluation so help might be found for the troubled individual. Only Kent County had not handled any extreme risk protective orders in the first 11 months for which data are available.
I was saddened last November to learn that a Glen Burnie man was killed by an officer while resisting an extreme risk protective order. But what did not make news were any of the private tragedies averted.
Each year roughly 250 Marylanders intentionally shoot themselves, amounting to 40% of all those killed by gunshot in the state. Suicide rates in rural counties are 35% higher than in our cities, according to a 2017 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study. Males are more likely to use a gun and not survive an attempt.
A few weeks ago, this law made headline news again when workers at a machine shop in Pasadena reported a co-worker threatening to kill them. Police took 146 firearms, including an assault-style rifle, from the man’s home. A judge will decide how many belonged to his 83-year-old father and how they must be stored to restrict access.
Sheriff Darren Popkin of Montgomery County, whose office keeps statewide statistics, has reported that firearms were seized after four significant threats were made against schools in Maryland.
Still, in the 890 petitions sought through the end of August, the threat of harm was often to self rather than others. The suicide of a loved one is not an everyday concern for most families, but the risk is real. It’s far more likely that someone with mental illness will shoot themselves, not someone else. If anyone in a household is suicidal, it’s best to remove all firearms and ammunition from the premises during their crisis.
Judges have granted final orders to keep firearms away for up to one year in 451 cases, roughly half, proving that judges are not rubber-stamping these petitions and that due process is working. About half the petitions were filed by law enforcement and half by others, including relatives, coparents, roommates, dating partners and health professionals.
Nationwide, nearly 24,000 Americans shot themselves in 2017, amounting to 60% of all gun deaths. Extreme risk (also known as red flag) laws have saved many lives in Washington, D.C., and the17 states that have passed them, mostly by preventing suicides. It is a simple, effective and inexpensive suicide prevention tool.
Now, Congress must pass federal extreme risk and universal background check laws. In Maryland, rifles and shotguns can be sold by private sellers to anyone without a background check. Keeping firearms out of reach during a crisis saves lives not just in that moment; more often than not, it saves them for good.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for guidance 1-800-273-8255 or text CONNECT to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. For more information on Extreme Risk Protective Orders, go to mdcourts.gov/district/ERPO.