Red Flag law petitions for guns on pace to double in 2025
Red Flag law petitions double in 2025
Minnesota's "Red Flag" law, known as an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), is designed to keep guns out of the hands of individuals deemed dangerous to themselves or others. FOX 9 Investigates how more than 400 have been filed since the law went into effect last year.
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota's "Red Flag" law is gaining traction as a key tool in preventing gun-related tragedies.
Law aims to ban guns from dangerous people
What we know:
Minnesota's "Red Flag" law, known as an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), is designed to keep guns out of the hands of individuals deemed dangerous to themselves or others. The law allows law enforcement, prosecutors, as well as some family and household members to petition the court for an order that temporarily bars someone from legally owning or purchasing firearms.
The FOX 9 Investigators reviewed hundreds of cases filed since the law took effect last year.
In total, more than 400 emergency petitions have been filed with courts statewide.
The data shows the law is gaining traction as the number of filings is on pace to more than double in 2025 – from a total of 138 cases in 2024 to 263 (through Nov. 15) already this year.
"It does not surprise me," said Rana Alexander, an assistant Hennepin County Attorney, who is leading the office’s Extreme Risk Protection Order efforts. "I mean, again, a brand-new process. Everybody has got to A, learn about it, and B, figure out how it works, and that takes time."
Dig deeper:
The Brooklyn Park Police Department has successfully petitioned for 11 emergency orders, confiscating at least 16 guns from its residents.
"Over the course of 23 years, I have made a lot of contact with people that are profoundly disturbed. We have never really had the tools to do anything about it in the past," explained Brooklyn Park Police Inspector Matt Rabe. "This is one of those tools that allows us to take action when we make contact with someone who we can tell is potentially very dangerous and has guns."
In one case reviewed by the FOX 9 Investigators, a Hennepin County judge authorized the confiscation of handguns owned by one Brooklyn Park resident who was said to have "undiagnosed psychosis." He allegedly threatened to kill his colleagues after showing up drunk at his workplace.
The man was barred from legally possessing and purchasing any firearms for a year.
"It is hard to talk about what could have been," said Rabe. "But I think we all know that we can look back on these horrible situations, horrible shootings that have happened. And people say, ‘hey, there were signs here. Why didn't anyone do anything? Why didn't anyone say anything?’ This is us doing that and saying, ‘there are some signs. I think, we should take action.’"
Added Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges, "The thing that I want people to understand is, it is better to do this than to be wrong or not get notified at all."
Big picture view:
The FOX 9 Investigators spoke to law enforcement and legal experts across Minnesota about the emergency orders.
Several stakeholders said one aspect of the law that is tricky to navigate is when an ERPO is expiring. At that point, the petitioner must return to court if they wish to extend the gun ban. But determining someone’s mental health state and the potential danger they pose can be a challenge weeks, months or even a year later without close monitoring.
"They still require the same due process, a showing of good cause. And so that is an issue. Has the situation improved? Has it changed? Is there still a danger to self or others," said Richard Hodsdon, a former prosecutor who now trains law enforcement on the "red flag" law as general counsel for the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association.
Rabe tells the FOX 9 Investigators, they keep a spreadsheet of the Brooklyn Park Police Department’s ERPO cases and monitor the situation as each one comes up on its expiration date.
Said Rabe, "When it gets close, we take a look and see, have we had further contact with this individual? Anything that indicates that there is still an immediate danger, and then we assess whether or not we want to go back in front of a judge."
Most emergency petitions lead to long-term gun bans
By the numbers:
State court data shows that 401 cases have been filed through November 15 since the law took effect.
Here are some key takeaways from the ERPO data reviewed by the FOX 9 Investigators:
- 71 petitions filed by private parties
- 330 filed by law enforcement and city/county prosecutors.
- 21 petitions (5%) outright rejected by the courts
- 308 petitions (75%) resulted in bans of six months to one year.
"Statistically, in Minnesota, I don't think it has been around long enough to have a valid social science study as to its effectiveness," concluded Hodsdon. "I think anecdotally we have seen a number of cases where it certainly increases the comfort level of family members, of neighbors, of law enforcement to know that we have an order in place."