The Stranger reports on the impacts of a law similar to Initiative 1491 in Connecticut:

In 1999, Connecticut passed something similar to an ERPO called a “risk-warrant” law, which allowed law enforcement to temporarily remove firearms from people “when there is probable cause to believe they are at a significant risk of harm to self or others.” According to a report on the efficacy of that policy published today by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, Connecticut issued 762 risk-warrants over 14 years. During those 14 years, police found firearms on 99 percent of the risk-warrant subjects, and an average of seven guns per person. Of the group that had their firearms temporarily taken away, 21 committed suicide—a suicide rate 40 times higher than the general population.

Researcher Dr. Jeffrey Swanson, a Duke University professor in psychiatry and behavioral science, then estimated that for every completed suicide in the sample, there are multiple more attempted suicides; by their math, the 21 completed suicides indicate that there were 142 attempted suicides—attempts that would likely have been lethal if firearms were available. Based on a model derived from that data, Swanson and his researchers estimated that for every 10 to 20 risk-warrants, one life is saved. In Connecticut, that translates to 38 to 76 people who were issued risk-warrants.

“When you think about Washington, how would that work—Washington has a much higher firearms ownership rate,” Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, said. “It also has a higher suicide rate. I think the results when you temporarily remove firearms from someone in crisis as an ERPO does, you should see a similar or greater benefit.”

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