Gun-Control Leader Pushes Florida Red Flag Expansion, But the Numbers Tell Another Story
In a June 21 op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel, Christopher Carita praised Florida’s Risk Protection Order law but said more needed to be done, so more Emergency Restraining Protection Orders could be filed.
The bio accompanying the article said Carita is a retired cop from South Florida and an advisor to 97 Percent, an LA-based gun-control group, well-known for its ‘interesting’ statistical claims.
In reality, Carita is more than an advisor: He’s one of two top leaders of 97 Percent.
Are we surprised to learn Carita thinks highly of red flag laws? No, we are not.
“And it works,” Carita wrote. Nearly 4,700 RPO petitions were filed in the first two years alone. Judicial approval rates exceed 95% for temporary orders. Law enforcement agencies across politically diverse counties, from South Florida to the Panhandle, file at comparable rates. Half of respondents stipulate, agreeing to the order without a legal fight. These are not the numbers you would expect from a “restrictive” law in a “gun-friendly” state, which is precisely why they rarely show up in the national conversation about what a good ERPO policy looks like.”
Florida’s Red Flag Law Was Born After Parkland
The Risk Protection Order law was one of the misguided measures squirted through the Florida Legislature in the aftermath of the Parkland mass shooting.
Gun-grabbers point to red flag laws, claiming they can prevent mass shootings, curb domestic violence, and reduce the use of guns in suicides. This last is important to gun-control fans: Suicide is the largest component of ‘gun violence’ and the only component that’s still growing.
According to the CDC, suicides committed with firearms have accounted for 58% of all gun-related fatalities, nationwide, over the past 25 years.
Red flag laws don’t appear to have any real impact on mass shootings. There is plenty documentation on domestic violence, but there’s little beyond anecdotal evidence showing ERPOs have a unique affect on domestic violence. Better reporting could produce better evidence but this is where we are right now.
The Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Rahimi means law enforcement and courts have other ways to temporarily disarm potential and wannabe threats.
Unlike red flag laws in a number of other states, Florida’s statute allows only law enforcement agencies to request an ERPO. In his op-ed piece, Carita asserts red flag laws could work even better if more people were allowed to petition for orders.
Florida’s Suicide Data Undercuts the Sales Pitch
I don’t know if Carita doesn’t know or just doesn’t care, but the numbers don’t support him.
Going back to the CDC, annual mortality reports from the past 20 years show firearm suicides make up 53% of gun violence in the Sunshine State. However, after Florida adopted red flag laws, the percentage rose to 56 percent. Due to declines in the numbers of suicides by hanging or self-poisoning, the suicide rate in Florida dropped about seven percent.
In 2018, guns were used to carry out 52% of all suicides in the state. By 2024, guns were used in 61%, an increase of eight percent.
It’s not really surprising. We looked at the results for all the states with red flag laws over a five-year period and found similar results. On average, gun use in suicide increased.
If suicide prevention if the goal, red flag laws don’t appear to be much of a tactic. Allowing more and more people to seek them is unlikely to make things better and opens a Pandora’s Box of potential pitfalls. The death of Gary Willis of Ferndale, MD, and the shameful treatment of Stephen Nichols, a retired police officer and school crossing guard from Tisbury, MA, should make any honorable legislator reconsider them.Like most gun-control nostrums, there doesn’t seem to be any real need for red-flag laws if the purpose is truly a reduction in self-harm.
However, if one considers red flag laws simply as a way to deprive people of their guns under the color of law, they are positively diabolical.
Due Process Is Not a Technicality
In most states with red flag laws, the orders can be granted in an ex parte hearing. The subject of the order is unaware of any proceedings until police come to collect their property. The whole process thumbs its nose at due process and violates least the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 encouraged adoption of red flag laws. Congress specifically authorized federal grants to assist states in implementation.
But there was a kicker: to get the money, the process for getting an ERPO had to comply with due process and protect the subject’s civil rights at every stage. Good-bye to clandestine confiscations.
Not one of the red flag statutes in effect complied with the requirement. None of the proposed laws complied, either. Kamala Harris ignored Congress’ conditions and proposed the New York State system as a model for other states to follow.
It is also rare for red flag laws to require any obligation on the part of the police, the courts, or even the petitioner, to do anything but grab the guns and go. No interventions; no referrals to mental health services or counseling: Just someone in a bad way whose situation has now gotten worse.
Calling red flag laws “life-saving” or “commonsense” is more than incorrect, it’s offensive.
The Gun-Control Lobby Ignores the Rest of the Crisis
In their zeal for gun-grabbing, gun control fans ignore 11,859 people who ended their own lives without using a gun in 2024 alone.
In the five years from 2020 to 2024, six red flag law states saw double-digit increases in firearm-related suicides.*
Including Florida.
Yet they call us heartless.
*Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Rhode Island. All raw data sourced from CDC mortality reports 2001-2024. Analysis by The Second Amendment Society of Texas exclusively for Ammoland.
About Bill Cawthon
Bill Cawthon first became a gun owner 55 years ago. He has been an active advocate for Americans’ civil liberties for more than a decade. He is the information director for the Second Amendment Society of Texas.