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Texas Made It a Felony
In 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law making it a state felony for any official to enforce a red flag order. The penalty is up to two years in prison. Texas does not have a red flag law. The bill preemptively criminalizes enforcement of any future one, including a federal order.
The Trace investigated this movement across all 50 states and found six that now punish public officials for attempting to remove firearms from people flagged as dangerous.
The Penalty Table
| State | Year enacted | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2025 | Felony, up to 2 years in prison |
| Montana | 2025 | $10,000 fine per violation |
| Wyoming | 2026 | Up to 1 year in prison + $2,000 fine |
| Oklahoma | 2024 | Misdemeanor, $1,000 fine |
| West Virginia | 2024 | Misdemeanor, removal from office |
| Alabama | 2023 | Misdemeanor, $500 fine |
Three more states have bills moving through legislatures. Iowa and Missouri have proposed $50,000 fines for any official who enforces a red flag order. South Carolina’s bill would make enforcement a felony.
What Red Flag Laws Actually Do
Extreme risk protection orders, commonly called red flag laws, allow a family member or law enforcement officer to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone who shows signs of being a danger to themselves or others. A judge reviews the evidence and issues a temporary order. A full hearing follows, usually within 14 days, where the gun owner can contest the order with legal representation.
Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C. currently have red flag laws on the books. The laws vary in who can file a petition and how long the orders last.
These are court processes. They require a judge, evidence, and a hearing. They are not confiscation raids.
The Suicide Data Is the Strongest Argument
The majority of gun deaths in America are suicides. In 2024, 27,593 people died by gun suicide compared to 15,364 gun homicides. Gun suicides outnumber gun homicides nearly 2-to-1.
Red flag laws directly address this. A 2019 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that for every 10 to 20 gun removal orders issued under Indiana’s red flag law, one suicide was prevented. Connecticut’s law showed similar results. The research is peer-reviewed and has been replicated across multiple states.
“My son told his roommate he was going to kill himself. The roommate called us. We called the police. The police said there was nothing they could do.”
Testimony to the Virginia General Assembly, 2019
In states that ban red flag enforcement, that family has no legal tool to intervene before a suicide attempt.
Who These Laws Protect
The anti-enforcement bills frame the issue as gun confiscation. The data tells a different story. According to research compiled by Everytown for Gun Safety, the most common petitioners for red flag orders are family members, not police. The most common reason is suicide risk, not violent threats against others.
| Who files red flag petitions | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Family members | ~45% |
| Law enforcement | ~50% |
| Medical professionals (where allowed) | ~5% |
| Reason for petition | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Suicide risk | ~60% |
| Threats to others | ~30% |
| Both | ~10% |
The people most affected by banning red flag enforcement are families trying to keep their own members alive.
The Legal Conflict Is Coming
These state bans create a direct collision with any future federal red flag law. The Virginia Plan (S.4339) introduced in April 2026 includes a federal ERPO provision. If it passes, state officials in Texas, Montana, and Wyoming would face prosecution under their own state law for complying with federal law.
That conflict will end up in federal court. The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution says federal law overrides state law, but the anti-commandeering doctrine says the federal government cannot force state officials to enforce federal statutes. This is the same legal framework that played out with marijuana legalization and immigration enforcement.
Until that conflict is resolved, families in six states have no red flag option. If someone they love is in crisis, the legal system in their state has decided that keeping a gun in that person’s hands matters more than keeping that person alive.
Contact your state legislators. If you live in one of the six states listed above, ask your representative whether they support criminalizing suicide prevention. If you live in a state with a red flag law, make sure your legislators know you want it protected.