By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College

Earlier this year, we got the terrible news that a longtime beloved co-worker lost a spouse to gun violence. He was acting as a Good Samaritan but was gunned down by a local with all kinds of problems, who has been charged with murder. By all accounts, that shooter should never have owned a gun.

It’s too late for this community hero, but maybe not for the rest of us. Some states have passed what’s known as a “Red Flag Law” or Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO). Depending on the state, ERPOs can involve relatives and/or law enforcement making a case before a judge why a potentially dangerous person shouldn’t have a lethal weapon, because they could be a harm to themselves or other people. In too many tragedies, people conclude that the killer had no business owning a weapon, wishing there was some kind of law to single out those dangerous individuals, as opposed to the vast majority of gun owners, who are responsible people.

I look at all of the states with an ERPO Red Flag Law and those that don’t, listed by Everytown Research for 2024. I also look at the gun death rates per 100,000 residents for 2024.

The first thing you realize when you enter the data in the spreadsheet is that only one of the top ten states for firearm deaths per capita (New Mexico) has a Red Flag Law. In fact, only four states in the top 20 for gun death rates have a Red Flag Law. The other 14 of the top 20 don’t have a Red Flag Law.

It is more telling when you look at the states with the fewest gun deaths. The eight states with the lowest gun death rates all have a Red Flag Law.

The average gun death rate ranking for a Red Flag Law state is 34.38 (with 50 being the fewest gun deaths per capita). For states without a Red Flag Law, the average ranking is 19.069, much closer to 1, the highest gun death rate number. And yes, the differences are statistically significant.

When it comes to gun death rates per 100,000 residents, Red Flag Law states average 12.0381 gun deaths per capita. Non-Red Flag Law states have a mean of 18.6414. The difference is statistically significant as well.

Some states have made Red Flag Laws illegal, directly infringing on upon the abilities of cities and counties to decide for themselves. These states, Tennessee, Wyoming, Oklahoma and West Virginia are all in the top 25 for gun death rates. Tennessee, Wyoming and Oklahoma are all in the top 15 for gun death rates. Texas is considering it, and is listening to Kyle Rittenhouse’s suggestions on the bill.

If you think 2024 was a statistical outlier, read my research on 2022, with different data sources. The conclusions are still the same. Red Flag Laws on guns in states work.

Georgia could do better, ranking 14^th in gun death rates, and is above average for these deaths. Maybe it’s time for the Peach State to consider this gun reform bill that enjoys bipartisan support, as former Florida GOP Governor Rick Scott, now a U.S. Senator, supports this law. Given that Florida’s Red Flag Law is working (the state is 31s in firearm deaths per capita), maybe Georgia should look into a Red Flag Law.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His “X” account is JohnTures2.