Data: Red flag law saves lives
Conn. law may become a model to combat mass violence nationwide
Connecticut’s red flag law, allowing police to seize the firearms of people who may be a threat to themselves or others, has been an increasingly used lifesaving measure now being considered as a national tool to combat mass violence.
The nation’s oldest law of its kind, enacted in 1999 after the workplace murders at the Connecticut Lottery Corp. the year before, allows judges to review incidents such as threats of suicide, assaults on family members and abuse of alcohol.
But first, police can intervene and transport people to hospitals for psychiatric evaluation, then take away their guns for two weeks, a year, or forever.
Since 1999, thousands of guns have been confiscated from more than 1,890 people in Connecticut, according to the state Judicial Branch. By the end of June, 117 people had been issued risk warrants this year. Some surrendered dozens of weapons.
Last year, a record 260 people gave up their firearms. Most of the firearms were registered, records
show.
“Since its passage, Connecticut’s prosecutors and police have had a valuable tool to help keep firearms out of the hands of potentially dangerous individuals,” said Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane. “Studies have shown this has assisted Connecticut in reducing its firearmrelated suicide rate by over 12 percent since 1999. It has proven that when given the proper tools, and when law enforcement and the public work together, we can make our communities safer.”
While some of the gun seizures occurred in the wake of criminal acts that result in arrests, most are barely noticed. Of more than two dozen cases this year reviewed by Hearst Connecticut Media, the majority originated with family members or friends concerned about the safety of a man or woman with mental health issues, or despondent over a romantic breakup.
Stress and the possession of firearms
On April 2, neighbors worried about the condition of a Monroe man and knowing he had guns called police when, as they tried to comfort him, he made suicidal remarks. Police responded and removed 11 guns from his home, including a Bushmaster XM15, the militarystyle rifle identical to the weapon used in the December, 2012 massacre of 20 first graders and six adults in Newtown’s Sandy Hook Elementary School.
On April 13, a young Norwalk man threatened acts of violence. A friend told police “he’s dealing with a lot and what happens next is not his fault.” His parents were worried that he would harm himself. Police found him parked on Norden Place, a .357 handgun in the passenger seat, along with a rifle, a large rope and a bag containing 400 bullets. He surrendered the weapon without a problem.
On April 14, a father called Brookfield police concerned about his son, who was in emotional distress over his fiance’s sudden cancellation of their engagement. He did not answer calls and left a message saying “Life isn’t worth living anymore,” according to the multipage warrant. Police found him in the town’s Happy Landings open space, carrying a 9 mm Glock handgun.
He cooperated with police, who took him for a psychiatric evaluation and seized nine guns, including four Glocks.
On April 25, a of Beacon Falls nurse, was seen parked in her white SUV outside an Oxford business. Despondent over the death of her mother, and a boyfriend who told her he did “not have time for this,” she “couldn’t handle the added stress of not having anyone else to support her feelings.” A resident state trooper and Seymour police talked her into surrendering a loaded Ruger .380 handgun. They collected five more in her home.
On May 2, a Fairfield man met police outside a Newtown gas station after he threatened to kill himself over a pending divorce. Police took four firearms, including three rifles, from his Davis Road home.
For Brendan Canty of Olivia Street in Derby, who faces criminal charges of threatening and reckless endangerment later this month in state Superior Court, a militarystyle AR15 was among the weapons seized on February 4 after he allegedly threatened to kill a woman.
During a confrontation with him “she reached into the closet and could feel the barrel of the gun,” said an affidavit on file with the state Judicial Branch. The inventory of seized weapons included a .22, an unregistered Smith & Wesson 9 mm, a Glock .45 handgun and a Mossberg shot gun.
A tool for women threatened in their homes
Karen Jarmoc, a former state lawmaker who is the president and CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said she believes that increasing aware of the law resulted in the jump from 177 cases of gun seizures in 2017, to 260 in 2018.
She says that between risk warrants and the recent law forcing those mostly men under restraining orders to turn in their guns, Connecticut is making it safer for women.
“We know that every case is different and not one size fits all,” but the risk warrant is another tool in the tool box, she said. “Firearms are most prominently the use of force in domestic violence.”
Last year, veteran state Rep. Arthur O’Neill, RSouthbury, who helped write the 1999 law, sent letters to President Donald Trump, congressional leaders in Washington and state officials throughout the country promoting the risk warrant law. He recalled that he got back only one response.
But in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida school shooting last year, the number of states using risk warrants doubled from seven to 14. Now, he is encouraged that the president seems willing to support the bill that would likely provide grants to states willing to adopt the measures.
“The attractive part of it is it provides due process and focuses on only a small group of people,” O’Neill said. “It also allows law enforcement to act swiftly.”
Under the law, those whose weapons are seized and permits taken may request a court hearing within 14 days to possibly get the firearms returned. A judge may rule, however, that they remain in police custody for up to a year. Gun owners may also name a permitholding relative to retain the weapons. Others contact gun dealers to sell them.
“The criteria was getting people to accept referrals for mental health evaluations,” said Michael Lawlor of New Haven, a former state lawmaker and justice adviser to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who worked with O’Neill on the 1999 law. “The key is you have to be an imminent threat to yourself or others,” said Lawlor, a University of New Haven professor. “Most people don’t ask for a hearing, and most have never been on the mentalhealth radar.”
“It’s this tough balance between mental health, privacy and public safety,” said Jeremy Stein, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence. “We want people with mental health issues to get help and want to make sure their privacy is protected, and we also know that the majority with mental health issues are not dangerous. Part of it is making sure police do a thorough investigation.”
Stein would like to see stricter requirements for gun permits, with more thorough screening for those who want to carry their firearms, compared to people whose guns are strictly for home protection.
“There are definitely laws that could make us safer,” Stein said, noting that Massachusetts has better storage laws than in Connecticut, where if you are single or have children 18 years of age or older, you do not have to lock them. “We still don’t have a true registration system,” Stein said. “People can come into the state with guns and never register them.”