West Virginia Should Adopt Red Flag Laws

(TNS) – It should be to our remorse that about 300 West Virginians die from gun violence every year, and nearly three out of four people in West Virginia who end their own lives do so with a gun, giving the state a suicide rate roughly 20 percent higher than it is nationally.

It is a stunning statistic, and yet, without trampling on Second Amendment rights, there are simple and effective answers that can quell the violence, boost access to mental health and help people reclaim their lives.

But we need legislators with courage to lead the way.

To reduce the number of firearm deaths in a state whose residents are more likely to be killed by guns than people in most other states, red flag laws offer a solution.

A red flag law, which allows people to obtain gun violence restraining orders, is a commonsense proposal to disarm people who allegedly present a danger to themselves or others around them.

When somebody is making threats about hurting people or committing suicide, there isn’t much that can be done in West Virginia, even though other states — as politically different as night and day — have adopted red flag laws and have statistics that say lives have been saved.

Indiana adopted its law back in 2005 when a police officer was fatally shot by a mentally disturbed man.

The California State Legislature was the first to enact a red flag law allowing family members to petition state courts to remove weapons from persons deemed a threat after a man committed a mass shooting.

With the law, there is something that can be done about people who are making those threats or are showing concerning behavior.

This clearly is not just a West Virginia issue.

In 2022, The Gun Violence Archive, which tracks firearm violence in the U.S., reported 648 mass shootings, 20,176 homicides and 24,090 suicides.

In about 80 percent of cases, research found, people who commit mass shootings or suicide make their intentions known in advance, typically to family members or friends or via social media.

Red flag laws give families and law enforcement the opportunity to intervene and the time to engage mental health treatment.

To address a concern of some like West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, red flag laws allow for due process during all stages of the legal process. People who have had their firearms removed can appear in court to give their side. If the judge determines they are not a danger to society or themselves, the prohibition can be lifted and the firearms returned.

Such reviews are civil court actions, not involving criminal courts. Thus, there is no trail left on a person’s criminal record.

On suicides alone, research tells us that if a firearm is not accessible when somebody chooses to end their life, it’s rare that somebody searches for another means. End result, a life saved.

Red flag laws are a sensible solution to quiet preventable tragedies.

©2023 The Register-Herald (Beckley, W.Va.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.