Constitutional Law
Nov. 6, 2026
Better safe than sorry: The case for California's red flag law
California's gun violence restraining orders offer a constitutionally permissible way to temporarily disarm individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others, with emerging research suggesting they can help prevent suicides, homicides and mass shootings.
Harvey Gee
Harvey Gee is an attorney in New York City. He previously served as a deputy public defender in Marin County and was a U.S. Supreme Court Fellows Program finalist (2012). His prior publications include "So Far, So Good: Enforcing California's Gun Violence Restraining Orders Before and After Bruen," 7 UCLA Criminal Justice Law Review 155 (2023); and "New York's Extreme Risk Protective Order--A Critical Tool for Protecting New Yorkers from Gun Violence," 45 Quinnipiac Law Review (forthcoming 2026).
While much has been written about gun control, mass shootings and gun violence in high-crime neighborhoods, less attention has been paid to recently passed state laws that are designed to prevent shootings before they happen.
In recent years, an increasing number of states have passed "emergency gun violence protection laws." A gun violence restraining order (GVRO), California's version of an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) or "red flag law," is a tailo...
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