Are You in Danger? Is anyone threatening to hurt him/herself or others??
A Gun involved? If you need help right now, call the police, 911, a legal aid or nonprofit in your area.
If anyone is having a Gun or any kind of firearms, you need not to fight or challenge the person rather find a way to stay out of the scene and report, especially as a dear one (parent, son/daughter, family members, friends, roommates).
Research has revealed that the people who are feeling to commit suicide or mass shootings do make their intentions known in advance to family members or friends or via social media.
Are you afraid someone close to you may hurt themselves or others with a gun, you heard them make such statements? …even if it was posted on social media and you know the person very well, and that he/she’s having a gun, you need to report to the police for an emergency gun violence restraining order before it’s late.
What is a Gun Violence Restraining Order?
A Gun Violence Restraining Order is a court order that prohibits individual(s) from having a gun, ammunition or magazines (any form of firearms).
A Gun violence restraining order restricts the issued individual(s) from:
- Having (handling, possession or owning) a gun, ammunition or magazines.
- Buying or exchanging a gun, ammunition, or magazines and
- Selling or storing guns, ammunition and magazines with a licensed gun dealer.
Ask for a Gun Violence Restraining Order
Trying to prevent someone you worry about from having guns and being dangerous to themselves or others, you can:
1. Call the police and let them know you are concerned about someone who is a threat to themselves or others. Based on your report, a police officer can immediately ask a judge for an emergency order to prevent the person from having guns or other kinds of firearms.
OR
2. If it’s not on emergency, you can take your time and go to court yourself to ask a judge for a Gun Violence Restraining Order.
Emergency Gun Violence Restraining Order
An emergency Gun Violence Restraining Order can be requested by a police officer and can be made right away against anyone who is a threat to themselves or others. If approved by a judge, such order lasts up to 21 days. After the emergency order is made, there will be a court hearing within 21 days from the time the order was issued by the judge.
At the hearing, the judge could extend the Gun Violence Restraining Order to up to 5 years.
If you want the order to last longer than 21 days, you should follow-up with the law enforcement agency right after the emergency order is made. You may be able to give them information that would help the judge make a decision.
You may also ask the court for your own Gun Violence Restraining order against the person, yourself or others.
Summary
The main purpose of Gun Violence Restraining Orders is to take guns, ammunition, and magazines away from the restrained person, and prevent them from buying new ones.
A Temporary or Emergency Gun Violence Restraining Order will last about 21 days. To have a longer Gun Violence Restraining Order (up to five years), there has to be a court hearing.
If you want a restraining order that lasts more than 21 days, you will have to go to court and tell the judge why you need a restraining order.
At the court hearing the judge will consider all the evidence and decide whether to approve a Gun Violence Restraining Order for up to 5 years.
Miscellaneous
If you are concerned about someone’s immediate safety, Call the police or contact a hotline for more information about how to keep yourself or other’s safe:
National Domestic Violence Hotline (available 24 hours a day in over 100 languages)
1-800-799-SAFE
thehotline.org
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
References
https://people.howstuffworks.com
