Maryland’s ‘red flag’ law has saved lives

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On June 13, 2013, my 30-year-old son Michael called to say goodbye. He had just bought a handgun and planned to kill himself when he got off the phone.

I don’t remember a word of that two-hour conversation, but I managed to convince him not to do it. My husband and I rushed to his side and begged him to get professional help and let us hold his gun until the crisis passed.

He promised to get help, but he said he wanted to keep the gun for self-defense and promised he wouldn’t use it on himself. We thought he was getting that help until eight months later, when a state trooper woke us to tell us our son had died by gun suicide.

Maryland’s Extreme Risk Protective Order (ERPO) law became effective on Oct. 1, 2018, five years after Michael’s death. The law allows law enforcement, family members, and certain health professionals to petition the court to temporarily remove firearms from someone who is a danger to themselves or others.

Through the end of August, Marylanders have filed an average of 73 petitions each month — a total of 1,686 petitions.

People in every county and Baltimore city have filed petitions. In Kent County in August, state troopers serving an ERPO recovered a firearm and ammunition from a suicidal man who had barricaded himself in his home. In May 2019, Prince George’s County sheriff’s deputies removed 40 firearms, 342 firearm magazines, and more than 23,000 rounds of ammunition from the home of a person subject to an ERPO.

Intense crises

But the majority of these incidents are discrete and straightforward, with law enforcement temporarily removing guns from people in intense crises, protecting them, their loved ones and their communities.

A recent study in King County, Washington state found that 40% of the granted ERPO petitions were for individuals whom the court found to be at risk to themselves only (suicidal); another 33% were for people who were at risk to themselves and others (including potential perpetrators of domestic violence); and 27% were a threat to “others only.”

A study evaluating extreme risk laws in Connecticut and Indiana showed a decrease in gun suicide rates of 14% and 7.5%, respectively, during the follow-up periods examined.

Family members are often the first to recognize signs of risk or crisis in a loved one. Having spent 17 years as a school nurse and supported many teens and families as they dealt with suicidal crises, I know inviting an honest conversation, listening to and supporting your loved one and encouraging them to see a mental health professional or primary care physician is the first effective step to preventing suicide.

If your loved one wants to voluntarily and temporarily store their firearms, check out the Maryland Safe Storage Map (mdpgv.org/safestoragemap/).

But if you’ve had an honest conversation, but they’re not receptive to help and are talking or behaving in ways that are dangerous to themselves or others — you are right to be concerned. Go to http://mdcourts.gov/district/ERPO for more information about petitioning for an Extreme Risk Protective Order.

I don’t know whether an ERPO would have saved Michael’s life. But I hope that someone reading this will use this information to prevent a tragedy and get their loved one the help they need in a time of crisis.

If you or someone you love is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-TALK [8255]) or connect with the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

Cheryl Brooks, of Westminster, is the Maryland chapter volunteer of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.