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Gun violence restraining orders may reduce firearm homicide, suicide

Firearm homicide and suicide may be reduced by gun violence restraining orders, which grant family members and significant others the ability to potentially prohibit firearm access if a relative displays dangerous behavior.

“Unlike traditional approaches to prohibiting gun purchase or possession, which rely on a high threshold (adjudication by criminal justice or mental health systems) before intervening, the [gun violence restraining order] allows family members and intimate partners who observe a relative’s dangerous behavior and believe it may be a precursor to violence to request a [gun violence restraining order] through the civil justice system,” study researcher Shannon Frattaroli PhD, MPH, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues wrote in Behavioral Sciences and the Law.

Shannon Frattaroli

After a court issues a gun violence restraining order (GVRO), law enforcement is authorized to remove any guns in the individual’s possession and prohibits them from purchasing new guns.

Multiple new firearm policies were proposed after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, and some of them focused on restricting access to people with diagnosed mental disorders.

In January 2014, restricted firearm access was expanded to individuals involuntarily committed to outpatient treatment, following an executive order from President Barack Obama.

“The downside of the current risk factor-based approach to gun violence prevention policy is that firearm disqualifications do not go into effect until an extreme event — involuntary psychiatric commitment or a disqualifying violent crime — has already occurred,” according to Frattaroli and colleagues. “Although police may be notified, officers are limited in their authority and ability to intervene immediately based solely on behavior. The identification of dangerous behavior by family members, intimate partners and others presents an opportunity for a more prevention-oriented approach than the current system.”

To assess potential efficacy of GVROs, Frattaroli and colleagues reviewed the 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others were shot and the 2014 mass shooting in Isla Vista, Calif., near the University of Santa Barbara.

The shooter in Tucson had had his shotgun taken away by family members, who advised him to seek medical attention for his threatening behavior. Unfortunately, their efforts were not enough to fully restrict his access to firearms.

Similarly, family members of the Isla Vista shooter reached out to mental health professionals due to his alarming behavior. Law enforcement was implemented and officers were sent to the shooter’s home, but felt they did not have legal basis to intervene.

Emma E. McGinty

“In both of these cases, those closest to the shooters identified dangerous behaviors and took concrete actions to intervene, however their options were limited,” study researcher Emma E. McGinty, PhD, of Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, said in a press release. “Both of these men went on to commit horrific acts of gun violence that potentially could have been avoided.”

In 2014, California became the first state to pass GVRO legislation, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2016.

As with any new policy, implementation can highlight potential downsides and concerns, including misuse of GVROs, fragmented law enforcement teams, lackluster support and more.

Nevertheless, researchers are confident “the GVRO represents an important step towards limiting access to firearms by those who are at an acutely elevated risk of committing acts of violence.”

“Allowing family members to petition a court for help before a loved one’s risk of violence becomes real violence is a tool which should be considered by states seeking to reduce gun violence,” Frattaroli said in the release. “GVROs address an important policy gap, which unfortunately doesn’t provide many opportunities to intervene before it’s too late.” — by Amanda Oldt

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