Ramsey County holds first "red flag" law training sessions
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Ramsey County is establishing protocols and leaning into a newer state gun law to try to save lives.
The county attorney's office hosted its first training on Thursday for the state's Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law, also known as the "red flag" law, which is designed to protect people from self-harm or causing harm to others.
It also allows certain people to ask the court to temporarily take a person's guns away or prohibit someone from buying one.
County Attorney John Choi says they're bringing invested partners together to educate and train people on how to best utilize the tool.
"It's really clear to me if there's leadership and people are being intentional about its use, and you build out the resources and all of those things, you can save lives," Choi said.
Family members, along with law enforcement and county attorney's offices, can file a petition. Since the law went into effect in January, about 100 have been filed in Minnesota, with three of those in Ramsey County.
Judges can grant two kinds of EPRO orders. One goes into immediate effect without a hearing and lasts for two weeks, while the other lasts up to a year and requires a hearing where the gun owner in question can dispute the petition.
Besides Minnesota, red flag laws are on the books in 20 other states and Washington D.C.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text "HelpLine" to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs.