The whole of the United States is groaning after a series of mass shootings. In May, a mass shooting at Yuvaldi Elementary School in Texas killed 19 children and two teachers, and a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York that left 10 people dead, and before the wounds even healed, they were shot during an Independence Day parade in Highland Park near Chicago, Illinois. 7 people died and 30 people were injured. According to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a non-profit research group in the United States, there were 357 shootings in 2022 alone that resulted in at least four deaths by June this year.
Despite such a tragedy, the Supreme Court ruled on June 23 that, “In order for an ordinary person licensed to possess a firearm to possess a handgun outside the home, he or she must explain the proper reason that possession of a firearm is necessary for self-defense and obtain a prior license.” New York State law was unconstitutional. This law was enacted in the early 20th century after a series of mass shootings by mafia groups in New York City.
President Biden, who immediately issued a statement saying he was “deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling,” set up a sharp confrontation with the Supreme Court by signing the Gun Control Act, which had passed both the House and the Senate with bipartisan support, on June 25, two days after the verdict. The new gun control law expands personal background checks for gun buyers between the ages of 18 and 21, expands background checks for gun sellers, increases penalties for gun trafficking, and provides incentives to states with Red Flag Laws. It contains information on what to pay.
To introduce the somewhat unfamiliar Red Flag Act, its original name is ‘Extreme Risk Protection Order’ (ERPO), which has already been established in California (2016) and Illinois (2019), where this accident occurred. It is being enacted and implemented in 19 states including New York (2019). The gist of the law is to temporarily ban the purchase and possession of firearms by those who, through a court review, are at high risk of injuring themselves or others with guns.
For example, if a husband who is abusing domestic violence threatens her wife, her wife can apply to court through her ERPO to prevent her husband from purchasing a firearm, and the husband may already be in possession of a firearm. Even if you do, the government can temporarily confiscate firearms. Other than the wife, family members, roommates, faculty, and medical staff in charge of treatment can also apply. The police officer or prosecutor in charge of the case is obliged to file an ERPO with the court if the husband determines that there is an extreme risk of using a firearm.
However, even if the ERPO temporarily bans firearms for emotionally disturbed people, it would not give her wife direct protection from it, as it would be different from a court restraining order. Also, since this order is a civil field, even if the husband is acquitted in a criminal case, the purchase and possession of firearms is prohibited for a certain period of time regardless of the order.
Since the red flag method is relatively recent, various studies are still in progress on its effectiveness. Statistics so far show that gun suicides have decreased by 7.5 to 13.7 percent, and in California, 58 mass shootings were prevented between 2016 and 2018.
The biggest problem with the gun control law signed by President Biden this time is that the key provisions that Democrats and gun control groups have been insisting on, such as mandatory background checks for all gun traders and the ban on assault guns and large-capacity magazines, are all missing due to Republican opposition. that has no effect whatsoever. Fortunately, financial support for the Red Flag Act is included in a bipartisan agreement between the two parties, and it is hoped that the Red Flag Act will be expanded to more states and play a major role in preventing gun accidents.