LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, applauded the Nebraska Senate Judiciary Committee today for passing crucial extreme risk protection order legislation. LB 58 would empower law enforcement officers and family members to intervene by seeking a court order to temporarily keep guns out of the hands of people in crisis when there is evidence they pose a risk of harming themselves or others. The bill now moves to the Senate for floor debate.
“Extreme risk protection orders save lives,” said Megan Gentrup, a volunteer with the Nebraska chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “This bill will help Nebraska prevent gun suicides and make our families, friends and communities safer by helping to temporarily keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a risk to themselves or others. Extreme risk laws have helped states across the country, and I’m grateful to Nebraska lawmakers for taking this step in the right direction to combat gun violence in our communities.”
Here’s what to know about extreme risk policies:
- Nationally, 85 % of respondents in a recent study favored Congressional lawmakers passing an extreme risk bill, as well as 78 % of gun owners. Additionally, 17 states and DC have enacted extreme risk laws, or red flag laws, including the neighboring state of Colorado.
- Extreme risk laws have been proven to save lives. They empower loved ones or law enforcement officers to intervene in order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing firearms.
- Extreme risk laws have been shown to be an effective tool in preventing gun suicides. In the last decade, gun suicides have increased 20 percent in Nebraska. In an average year, 70.8% of all gun deaths in Nebraska are suicides. More shockingly in Nebraska, an average of 15 children and teens die by guns every year, and 59% of these deaths are suicide.
- Extreme risk laws are one of the most powerful tools for preventing mass shootings and school shootings by providing a way to act before warning signs escalate into tragedies. Like many mass shooters, the 19-year-old suspected of shooting and killing 17 people and injuring 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland displayed warning signs prior to the shooting.
Statistics about gun violence in Nebraska are available here, and information on how Nebraska’s gun laws compare to other states’ overall is available here.
If you have questions, or to request an interview with a volunteer from Nebraska Moms Demand Action, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
