Today, USA Today Network published an op-ed by Governor Kathy Hochul on the importance of Red Flag laws to prevent gun violence in the wake of the tragic shootings in Nashville and Louisville. Text of the op-ed is available below and can be viewed online here.
The tragic scene that unfolded last month at the Covenant School in Nashville was all too familiar — the terrified parents, the teachers and children clinging to each other, and the truly heroic first responders racing to the rescue.
What was once unimaginable in our country has become horrifyingly frequent: there have already been 130 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
But something new happened after the Nashville shooting: two young, Black state legislators were expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives. They had dared to advocate, and demonstrate through peaceful protest, for common sense gun safety laws. They were echoing the sentiments of students who had protested and walked out of classrooms, following the footsteps of the courageous Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, who became national leaders after the shooting at their Florida school.
The anti-democratic actions of the legislature not only defy the norms for our elected bodies, they also defy the will of the people — gun safety laws are supported not only by a majority of Americans but also by most Tennesseans.
In a recent statewide poll from the Vanderbilt Center for Health Policy, 70.5% of respondents said they believe schools would be safer if background checks were required for all gun sales. And more than 63% of parents said that schools would be safer if families and law enforcement could temporarily restrict a person’s access to firearms.
That’s exactly what we did in New York, after 10 people lost their lives in a racially motivated mass shooting in my hometown of Buffalo almost one year ago. I immediately went to work with our state legislature and less than a month after the attack in Buffalo, we passed a landmark package to strengthen state gun laws and protect New Yorkers. This package included banning the sale of semiautomatic weapons to anyone under 21, and bolstering our existing gun laws, including Red Flag laws, to prevent future tragedies.
How Red Flag laws can make a difference
Red Flag laws allow courts to issue extreme risk protection orders to keep guns away from people who may be a danger to themselves or to others, and last summer we made it even stronger. Now, law enforcement, as well as teachers, school administrators, family members, and a wide array of health professionals can raise a red flag and petition for an ERPO, if they are concerned that someone is in crisis. There are stringent due process guardrails in place for legal gun owners, including a judicial hearing and right to counsel.
A staggering 56% of mass shooting perpetrators exhibit troubling behavior or make specific threats before carrying out an attack. That’s what happened in Nashville: the shooter had known mental health issues and was receiving treatment. But they were still able to legally purchase an arsenal of deadly weapons.
If Tennessee had a Red Flag law in place, a simple filing by the shooter’s parents or friends could have prevented tragedy. And in Monday's attack in Louisville, when the alleged gunman texted his intentions to multiple friends and left a note for his parents, an emergency order of protection likely could have saved lives. In New York that has happened nearly 8,000 times so far — since strengthening the law, we’ve worked to make sure New Yorkers are aware of their ability to use it, and Red Flag law applications have increased sixfold.
The law is working — more than 78% of ERPOs in New York were filed after we strengthened our Red Flag laws and expanded who is eligible to petition for orders of protection last year. We’ve also partnered with Everytown for Gun Safety to hold training sessions on our Red Flag laws, including instructions on how to file an order of protection to prevent a potentially dangerous person from accessing firearms.
Despite strong evidence that Red Flag laws help save lives, 31 states, including Tennessee, still have not adopted them. That needs to change. In February of this year, President Joe Biden allotted $231 million for states to implement crisis intervention projects like Red Flag laws. This is a good start; but states need to step up in the absence of a national Red Flag law.
State legislators in Tennessee and across the nation should be aware there is a direct correlation between common sense gun laws and lives saved. The evidence is clear — states with tougher gun laws have lower rates of gun deaths. According to the CDC, New York has a gun death rate of 5.3 per 100,000 — the fifth lowest in the country. Tennessee’s is four times higher.
And finally, as the first New York governor who is also a mother, I am heartsick to know that preventable gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States, a staggering 50% increase between 2019 and 2021, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis.
Instead of expelling lawmakers who are fighting to save kids’ lives, the adults need to grow up and work collaboratively within the Tennessee legislature to protect those children.
It’s time to stop the bloodshed in Tennessee and around the nation.