Hawaii has almost every gun law imaginable, including an Gun Violence Protection Order statute that allows almost anyone, including family members, dating partners, co-workers, teachers, and assorted medical professionals, to file a petition seeking a one-year ban on gun possession for someone deemed by a judge to pose a threat to themselves or others.
As Honolulu Civil Beat reports, though the law has been in place for several years, it's only been used a handful of times even though suicides have become far more common since the "red flag" law was enacted.
Since it took effect in 2020, only 10 petitions have been filed against six people across the state, according to court records — the lowest per capita of any state. Only two of them had their guns taken away.
During that time, the number of people killed by guns in Hawaiʻi has increased at a rate outpacing the rest of the country. Suicides, which make up the majority of firearm fatalities, rose around 70% between 2018 and 2023, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Red flag laws have been shown to make a difference. In Connecticut, for example, the rate of gun-related suicides dropped by about 15% after the state doubled down on enforcement, according to a 2018 study by researchers at the University of Indianapolis.
Note the caveat, though. "Gun-related" suicides declined by about 15% in Connecticut when the state dramatically expanded the number of "red flag" orders (also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders or Gun Violence Prevention Orders) that were filed, but that doesn't mean that overall suicide rates dropped by the same rate. In fact, as the study acknowleged, "Connecticut’s estimated reduction in firearm suicides was offset by increased nonfirearm suicides."
I don't know about you, but I think we should be looking at ways to reduce the overall number of suicides, not just those where a gun is used. This, however, is one of the many drawbacks of a "red flag" law; once any firearms are removed from the home of someone deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others, the State considers the problem solved. There is no help offered to those in crisis; no outpatient therapy sessions or even telemedicine, much less involuntary inpatient treatment. "Red flag" laws generally have no mental health component to them whatsoever.
Let's get back to Hawaii's "red flag" law. Why, in the five years that the ERPO law has been in place, have only ten petitions been filed? It depends on who you ask.
Experts and bereaved parents blamed the infrequent use of the red flag option on a lack of awareness of the law and the stigma around mental health. The state’s suicide prevention task force does community trainings, but it doesn’t include information about the red flag law, said Dr. Deborah Goebert, who co-chairs the group.
“I don’t think we’re telling people,” Goebert said. “Can’t utilize it if you don’t know about it.”
Others say that Hawaiʻi’s array of strict gun laws already keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, reducing the need for these petitions compared to the other 20 states with red flag laws. One example is the requirement to get a permit to purchase a firearm.
“That’s a really good safeguard,” said Olivia Li, senior counsel at Everytown for Gun Safety, “and it means that there’s going to be less dangerous gun ownership in general.”
No, it means there's going to be less gun ownership in general. It's no surprise that Hawaii is estimated to have one of the lowest rates of gun ownership in the country, given the needless hoops would-be gun owners have to jump through.
Li's argument also doesn't make much sense given that the rate of gun-related suicides surged in Hawaii by 70% between 2018 and 2023. If Hawaii's gun laws served as effective suicide prevention, we'd expect the number of gun-involved suicides to be static relative to the population. Instead, it's nearly doubled.. unlike the number of lawful gun owners in Hawaii.
Whether or not you think that "red flag" laws violate our due process rights and/or our right to keep and bear arms, the fact remains that they're just not that effective in saving lives. Supporters of the laws claim that for every 17 Extreme Risk Protection Orders issued, one suicide is prevented. That's a "success" rate of less than 10%, which isn't anything to applaud. And what happens in the other 16 cases? Did those individuals go on to take their lives regardless of the "red flag" order, or were they never really a threat to themselves or others to begin with?
While anti-gun activists are sure to point to this story as reason to expand the use of "red flag" orders, as the Honolulu Civil Beat notes:
Experts don’t think the low numbers of red flag petitions filed in Hawaiʻi are necessarily cause for alarm because there are other ways that someone who is at risk of hurting themselves or others can lose access to guns. Domestic violence protection orders and temporary restraining orders are both much more widely used in Hawaiʻi, and they provide a greater swath of protections for victims in addition to restricting the possession of firearms, according to Drane.
There are already more effective tools available to both law enforcement and family members concerned about someone's mental health, including civil commitment laws on the books in all 50 states. From a firearm-specific standpoint, there are also strategies like voluntary off-site storage that can provide gun owners with a safe place to keep their guns temporarily while a family member is in crisis, without getting law enforcement involved.
Hawaii's suicide rate is heading in the wrong direction, and more "red flag" orders won't address the problem. "Red flag" laws aren't just ineffective and constitutionally unsound. They may actually prevent someone in crisis from receiving the help they need. Since Hawaii's law has been used so infrequently, now's the perfect time to get rid of it altogether and to focus on more effective approaches that don't involve infringing on a fundamental civil right.
Editor's Note: If you or a loved one is struggling, the 988 Lifeline is a confidential, free, and available 24/7 resource that can connect you to a trained counselor via phone, text, or chat.
