Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Taking guns away from people in crisis: Does it work?

Liz Szabo
Policy
August 12, 2019
Share
Tweet
Share

In his response to mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, President Donald Trump called for an expansion of state laws that temporarily prevent someone in crisis from buying or possessing a gun.

A flurry of states have recently passed such laws — known as extreme risk protection orders — which allow a court to intervene when someone shows warning signs of impending violence. Although the laws are widely supported by gun control groups and mental health advocates, others note that the measures alone won’t solve the nation’s gun violence epidemic.

Trump said the shooter in the Parkland, Fla., massacre last year “had many red flags against him, and yet nobody took decisive action; nobody did anything. … We must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do not have access to firearms, and that if they do, those firearms can be taken through rapid due process.”

About half of those who commit mass shootings show warning signs that they were a threat to themselves or others, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates for stricter measures to reduce gun violence.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has introduced a bill to provide federal funding to states to put such laws into practice. A similar bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.). After Trump’s Monday speech, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have agreed to get the bills passed.

A 2018 poll found 85% of registered voters support such legislation.

At the time of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in February 2018, only five states allowed extreme risk protection orders. Today, 17 states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — have protection orders, as does the District of Columbia.

Advocates say protection orders address gaps in federal law, which bars people from having guns only if have been convicted of certain crimes; if they are determined to have a mental illness or have been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital; or if they’re subject to a final domestic violence restraining order. People who don’t meet these criteria are still able to buy and keep guns, according to federal law, even if they display warning signs of impending violence or suicide.

Protection orders “take guns out of the hands of those who should not have them without infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” said Dr. Mark Rosenberg, who oversaw gun violence research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Protection orders are a “vital tool” that allows the people who are most likely to notice when a loved one or community member becomes a danger to take concrete steps to disarm them, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a San Francisco-based advocacy group named for Gabrielle Giffords, a former congresswoman who survived a mass shooting.

The National Rifle Association, which typically opposes efforts to restrict access to guns, said it supports state protection orders, as long as the laws include certain provisions to ensure gun owners’ rights.

A 2018 study in Psychiatric Services found gun-related suicides fell significantly after the passage of extreme risk protection laws in Indiana and Connecticut. Gun-related suicides fell 7.5% in the ten years after Indiana enacted its law, along with 13.7% in Connecticut. About 60% of firearms deaths are suicides.

Yet the evidence that protection orders reduce gun violence is more “suggestive” than definitive, Rosenberg said. No one has performed a large, long-term study of the state laws, mainly because of a congressional amendment from the 1990s that discouraged federal agencies from studying gun violence, he said.

“It’s a horrible shame that we don’t have evidence about what works to prevent gun violence,” Rosenberg said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Some mental health advocates criticized Trump for blaming mass shootings on mental illness.

“Four percent of violence in this country is attributable to mental illness,” said Ronald Honberg, a senior policy adviser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “That means 96% of violence is not. So if somehow we were miraculously able to cure mental illness, which we’re far from being able to do at this point, we would not be appreciably reducing violence.”

Liz Szabo is a senior correspondent, Kaiser Health News.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com 

Prev

How to help physicians end maintenance of certification nationwide

August 12, 2019 Kevin 7
…
Next

Dear emergency department clinicians: a letter from administration

August 12, 2019 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy, Washington Watch

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How to help physicians end maintenance of certification nationwide
Next Post >
Dear emergency department clinicians: a letter from administration

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Liz Szabo

  • Is the conference cancelled? How coronavirus is upending the conference industry.

    Liz Szabo
  • Widespread hype gives false hope to many cancer patients

    Liz Szabo

Related Posts

  • Limiting access to guns may not be the best solution to the present crisis

    John Corsino, DPT
  • Let’s talk about guns as a health crisis

    Aldis Petriceks
  • Advocating for people with disabilities: People First Language

    Leonard Wang
  • What’s wrong with crisis pregnancy centers?

    Nickey Jafari, MD
  • Why do people hate Obamacare?

    Julie Rovner
  • Why guns should be tracked and studied

    Karen Bonuck, PhD

More in Policy

  • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

    Ilan Shapiro, MD
  • Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ laws

    BJ Ferguson
  • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

    Carlin Lockwood
  • What Adam Smith would say about America’s for-profit health care

    M. Bennet Broner, PhD
  • The lab behind the lens: Equity begins with diagnosis

    Michael Misialek, MD
  • Conflicts of interest are eroding trust in U.S. health agencies

    Martha Rosenberg
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Why what doctors say matters more than you think [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How Mark Twain would dismantle today’s flawed medical AI

      Neil Baum, MD and Mark Ibsen, MD | Tech
    • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Marketing as a clinician isn’t about selling. It’s about trust.

      Kara Pepper, MD | Physician
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education
    • Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Why what doctors say matters more than you think [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How Mark Twain would dismantle today’s flawed medical AI

      Neil Baum, MD and Mark Ibsen, MD | Tech
    • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Marketing as a clinician isn’t about selling. It’s about trust.

      Kara Pepper, MD | Physician
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education
    • Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...