Nassau should follow Suffolk's example in using red flag law to remove guns from those at risk

Suffolk County’s impressive embrace of the state’s “red flag” gun law, meant to reduce the chance of mass shootings and firearm violence, has yielded another surprising result — preventing the use of guns by those potentially suicidal and suffering a serious mental health crisis.

Recent data shows Suffolk was the most active jurisdiction in the state with red flags known as “extreme risk protection orders,” designed to get guns away from those deemed dangerous to themselves or to others. Suffolk reported a ninefold increase since May 2022 in these red flag orders, far more than any county in the state, including Nassau.

But the data about Suffolk also provides some important insights about the law's use in dealing with mental health crises involving guns during this COVID-19 era, when suicide among young adults has spiked.

Most of the Suffolk red flag orders issued against 1,506 people from May 2022 until June this year involved people feared suicidal and suffering a severe mental health crisis, according to police. “A vast majority” were in response to 911 emergency phone calls or other warnings about people threatening to harm themselves, according to Kate Fohrkolb, assistant deputy commissioner for the Suffolk County Police Department. She said red flag orders allowed those deemed potentially suicidal to be transported to hospitals for care and also referred to mental health services like the nonprofit Family Service League’s DASH Crisis Care Center, dealing with addiction treatment and other counseling.

ADDED BENEFITS OF THE LAW

This insight from Suffolk highlights the added benefits from the new red flag law, touted as a response to the wave of mass shootings across the nation. Just days after a May 2022 Buffalo supermarket massacre, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the red flag law and an executive order allowing police to confiscate guns from such at-risk individuals. An early version was discretionary but this new law’s call for disarming potential threats was made mandatory with no exceptions. It's considered one of the strongest red flags laws in the nation.

These orders temporarily prevent at-risk people from purchasing or possessing any kind of firearm, and require them to surrender guns they already possess. A person can challenge an order in court but if upheld, it applies for a year. In addition to allowing the police to take action, the law empowers teachers, school administrators, and mental health professionals to initiate the red flag process.

Nassau County police are not as active with red flag orders as Suffolk and would be wise to follow that county's example. During the same time period since Hochul’s order in May 2022, Nassau issued red flag orders against 35 individuals, 29th among the state’s 62 counties. A Nassau police spokesman said the department has traditionally relied on court orders of protection in taking action, often in domestic disputes, and was slower in adapting to the new law's provisions. For this reason, he said, Nassau's red flag numbers were lower than Suffolk's.

EFFECT ON DOMESTIC ABUSERS

The life-threatening dilemma that a gun poses in the hand of a suicidal person is demonstrated by recent events. In March 2022, for example, a Suffolk 16-year-old told schoolmates that he wanted to shoot their heads off and that he intended to hurt himself with a shotgun in his house. A judge's red flag order allowed the police to confiscate two shotguns from the teenager’s home and prevent any violence.

The law's impact in reducing violence certainly needs more study by agencies like the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found, for example, that more than half the 45,222 firearms-related U.S. deaths in 2020 were suicides. The red flag law may also prove helpful in helping reduce domestic violence involving guns. Further analysis would be particularly timely; the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case next term on whether domestic abusers can own guns. Specifically, the court will decide whether domestic violence orders can legally prohibit people from having guns or whether such restrictions are a violation of their 2nd Amendment rights.

The case involves a Texas man who agreed to a protective order keeping him from possessing a gun after he allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend. The same man was later involved in five shootings and pleaded guilty to violating existing federal law banning guns by convicted domestic abusers, when police found firearms in his home. But an appeals court vacated his conviction on 2nd Amendment grounds.

Hochul has credited the red flag law with a recent 17% drop in shootings in New York City and a drop in crime elsewhere in the state. The important lessons from Suffolk, the leader so far in using this new law, suggest it can beneficial in preventing suicide, domestic violence and other tragedies. Suffolk's application of this law should be closely reviewed by Nassau County for its efficacy and emulated by other jurisdictions around the nation.