ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – THE Ramsey County The prosecutor’s office brought together “150 stakeholders on new countywide protocols, procedures and staffing investments to maximize use” of the MinnesotaThe red flag law.

Ramsey County On Thursday, officials spoke to the public about the state’s situation. Minnesotaof the Extreme Risk Protect Order (ERPO) or Red Flag law which gives citizens the necessary tools to obtain a court-ordered surrender of firearms in life-threatening situations.

What we know

The red flag the law came into force at the beginning of 2024 and requires a request from law enforcement, a prosecutor, or a family member to initiate action.

LEARN MORE: Minnesota’s New Red Flag Law Takes Effect: How It Works

There are two types of orders under the law:

1. Emergency orders, issued immediately by a judge, and last for fourteen days.
2. Long-term orders, which last between six months and a year, require a court hearing involving the gun owner.

The Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz previously said: “None of these things infringe on your constitutional right to safe gun use…what they do is save lives and make our homes and cities a little safer .”

Most data from states with similar laws focus on suicide prevention, with studies showing significant reductions in suicide rates linked to these laws. The impact on preventing mass shootings and other forms of gun violence is less conclusive, although advocates are optimistic about the law’s potential to save lives.

Currently, 20 other states and the District of Columbia have a similar law.

What they say

Thursday’s conference included the Ramsey County Prosecutor, the Ramsey County Sheriff, a St. Paul deputy police chief and a representative of a violence prevention organization.

Ramsey County Prosecutor John Choi spoke about the importance of community cooperation when it comes to implementing Red Flag ordinances.

“As a community and as a state, we can go one of two ways: We can be very passive about passage, and admire the fact that a law was passed, and let these situations happen to us passively. And the reality In other words, in these kinds of situations and states, we’re not going to make much progress Or we can come together collectively and recognize that this is an important tool, that it is at the heart of our mission, keeping our public safe, and knowing everything we know about mental health and the prevalence of guns in our society, we can use this new tool and be intentional about it. this subject.”

Choi added that there have been “a little over 100” ERPOs statewide since the law was passed on Jan. 1, 2024, with most occurring in greater Minnesota.

Only three were purged in Ramsey County, Choi said.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said, “Sometimes criminal prosecutions are impossible and it is clear that the process takes a long time. There will be times when the facts suggest that this weapon poses a danger to the person or person. community, but you may not have enough facts to prosecute them for a crime.

Dig Deeper

An incident in Minneapolis last month is seen by some as an example of a preventable attack that the law is supposed to address.

The suspect, John Sawchak, is accused of shooting and injuring his neighborDavis Moturi, after years of well-documented threats.

LEARN MORE: Deputy shot by neighbor: Minnesota’s Red Flag law designed to prevent such violence

An ERPO was only issued in Sawchak’s case after he shot Moturi, not before.

The author of the law declared that as of mid-July of this year, there have been at least 70 times judges across the state have issued an ERPO to remove guns, and he believes lives have been saved as a result.