$2M Awarded For New Research on Red-Flag Laws
The National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research (NCGVR) has funded new research projects examining the effectiveness of extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), or red flag laws.
More than $2 million in funding has been awarded across five projects covering topics including intimate partner violence, judicial decisionmaking, and police shootings.
Additional projects from this round of grantmaking are still being finalized, which if confirmed would bring the total funding to $2.8 million.
ERPOs are risk-based protective orders issued by courts to remove firearms from people who have been determined to be at risk of harming themselves or others.
The 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act set aside $750 million, part of which is to support state and local implementation of ERPOs. To date, 21 states and the District of Columbia have implemented some type of ERPO legislation.
NCGVR director Andrew Morral said the new research will help improve our understanding of ERPOs, including how, when, and for whom they are most likely to be effective.
The funded research projects will
- assess decision-making related to behavioral health evaluations and arrests in the state of Washington
- evaluate the impact of ERPO and domestic violence restraining orders on pregnancy-associated homicide
- assess trends in the use of ERPOs in cases of intimate partner violence in California
- examine local variations in ERPO implementation in Florida and the incidence of firearm injuries including police shootings
- improve understanding of judicial decisionmaking and documentation practices for firearm relinquishment and return in Colorado.
Research proposals were reviewed for their scientific merit by independent peer reviewers and funding decisions were made by the collaborative’s Research Advisory Committee.
NCGVR funds rigorous scientific research on firearm violence reduction and has awarded $23.6 million in grants to 55 research projects. It is funded from philanthropic donations and administered by RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization.
Support for this round of grantmaking was provided by Arnold Ventures.
Update: An additional project has been funded evaluating the impact of Florida's Risk Protection Order law on suicide. The project, led by Florida State University, will assess all risk protection orders (RPOs) issued in the state of Florida from 2018 to 2023.
Read more details on the funded projects »