An Associated Press analysis found many U.S. states barely use “red flag” laws that allow police to take guns away from people threatening to kill, a trend blamed on lack of awareness of the laws and a reluctance to enforce them even as gun deaths soar.
The AP found the 19 states and the District of Columbia that have such laws used them 15,049 times since 2020, fewer than 10 per 100,000 adult residents. Experts called that woefully low and not nearly enough to make a dent in gun violence, considering the millions of firearms in circulation across the country.