1. The Firearm Restraining Order A Violence Prevention Tool for Illinois
Peter Contos
Welcome attendees to the event.
Introduction:
My name is ***, I am an outreach coordinator/volunteer with Speak for Safety Illinois. I’m accompanied by ***insert co-presenter***, and we’re glad you could make it.

2. Goals of this presentation
What is a Firearms Restraining Order?
How do these orders work?
Where do I go to get one?
Why do we need these laws?
How can I spread the word about the law?
Start the Presentation by establishing our goals for the evening.
We want everyone to learn about this law, how it works, where they can go to get one, why we need these laws, and how you can get involved to spread the word about them

3. Terminology What is a “Red Flag’ or ‘Extreme Risk Law’? (EFSGV)
Illinois: Firearms Restraining Order (FRO)
Emergency Risk Protection Order (MD, CO)
Gun Violence Restraining Order (CA)
Lethal Violence Protection Order (DE)
Ask attendees if they’ve heard of any of the following names…
In recent weeks/months, there has been a lot of talk about what are called “Red Flag” and “Extreme Risk” laws
-There is no uniform name for these laws, and they are known by different names depending on where you are at.
After hearing feedback from Mental Healthcare providers that Red Flag Law is stigmatizing language, We avoid using RFL, and stick with FRO or Extreme Risk law.
Ed. Fund to Stop Gun Violence’s ED Josh Horwitz on why it’s time to “retire Red Flag”

4. What is a Firearm Restraining Order?
The Firearm Restraining Order (FRO) allows family members, and law enforcement to work with courts to temporarily remove guns and prevent the purchase of new guns by individuals who pose a significant risk of harm to themselves or others, and is NOT based on any mental health diagnosis. The FRO is a civil procedure, not a criminal one. The goal is to ensure safety of the individual and those around them.
While they may have different names, all of these laws serve the same purpose,
They are Civil Orders available to family, household members, and LEO to remove firearms from those exhibiting dangerous behaviors
Reinforce that they are Civil Orders not Criminal, and the goal of them to ensure immediate safety for everyone in the situation, Not meant to punish/criminalize mental health crisis

5. How does a FRO help people in crisis stay safe?
FRO requires temporary removal of guns and the FOID card from the respondent of the order, and prohibits them from purchasing or possessing firearms throughout the order.
An Emergency FRO can last up to 14 days, while a Six-Month FRO can last up to six months (and can be renewed beyond that) after a court hearing is held.
This creates safer circumstances for the individual to seek services, stabilize their behavior, or access resources to address the underlying causes of their dangerous behaviors.
The FRO is a temporary order.
An emergency order can last up to 14 days, and depending on the result of a full hearing, an order can be extended to 6 months. Orders can be extended beyond the initial 6 months if risk has not subsided
The FRO creates safer circumstances for individuals and family members to seek services, with the goal of addressing underlying causes of dangerous behaviors

6. How do you get a FRO? There are two types of FROs:
Emergency FRO and Six-Month FRO
An Emergency FRO can be filed for, issued, and served on the same day. It can last up to 14 days, and is followed by a full hearing which can result in a Six-Month FRO.
To get a FRO:
You can petition yourself, petitioning the Circuit Court in the county where the respondent lives to pursue a FRO.
You can work with local law enforcement in the county the respondent lives in, where they can take on and expedite the filing and serving process.
There are Two types of FROs, but we anticipate most people to file for emergency orders
These have an expedited hearing process that can be done in one day, on an Ex Parte basis (that is without the inclusion of the respondent)
If the Emergency FRO is issued, local law enforcement will serve the order and remove any firearms and FOID card
After the guns are removed, there will be a full hearing within 14 days, where the petitioner and respondent cna tell their side of the story.
To begin the Emergency FRO process, there are two avenues you can go down
First. You become the petitioner. You file a verified petition from the Circuit Court in the County of the RESPONDENT. You then attend the Ex Parte hearing
Another way. You allow local law enforcement to petition on your behalf. You can inform them of the situation, provide them any evidence you have, and then they go about filing for the FRO, attending the hearing, and serving the order.

7. FRO Due Process
The law allows only those closest to you to petition for FRO’s
In order to obtain a FRO, a petitioner must present evidence to a judge of the “Clear and present danger” of the respondent. The burden of proof is very high
If an emergency FRO is issued, the respondent is provided an opportunity to appeal the issuance of a six-month order at the full hearing
If the six-month order is issued, they are allowed to contest that in another hearing
Filing a misleading or false FRO Petition can result in a class 4 felony
This is where we stop the presentation, and address some of the broader concerns people have about these types of laws:
Only allows a very small group of people to petition - IL one of the most limited in terms of qualified petitioners
Burden of proof is on the petitioner, and that burden has been set very high: evidence includes unlawful use/display, abuse, threats, abuse of alcohol or substances, violation of OP, among others
Multiple chances to appeal- attend the full hearing, one termination request allowed if the 6-month order is granted
Class 4 felony for a misleading/untrue petition
Q&A about the law follows this slide.

8. History of the FRO in Illinois
Illinois’ FRO law was established in response to growing rates of suicide & domestic violence homicide across the country, as well as the increased frequency of mass shootings. In the Summer of 2018, the bill was passed thanks to hard work from committed stakeholders and legislators across Illinois, and became law on January 1st of
After FRO law Q&A ->
Why do we need these laws, and how did they come to be?
In Illinois, the FRO was passed in response to Increasing rates of suicide by 23% since 2000, deadly DV over the last decade, mass shootings
The GVP momentum in IL lead to this being signed with a veto-proof majority in both chambers

9. Firearm Removal Laws in Other States
Since the Parkland Shooting on February 15th, 2018, 10 states have approved bills similar to Illinois’ Firearm Restraining Order law. This brings the total number of states with Extreme Risk-style laws to 17 and the District of Columbia. More states are currently considering such laws, as is the US Congress.
Illinois is not the first state to pass this type of law. Right now, 17 other states plus DC have these types of laws.
10 of those states, plus DC, have passed Extreme Risk laws since Parkland
NJ goes into effect Sept. 1st
4 more considering them (OH, MI, PA),
There is also a federal level FRO law that will provide grants to states to implement their own FRO laws
Source: Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence

10. Academic Research on FROs
2017 Duke Study, Jeffrey W. Swanson et al.:
Examined the results of Connecticut’s firearm seizure law which has been in effect since 1999:
On average law enforcement removed 7 guns for each order.
1 in 3 respondents were given access to mental health care and drug/alcohol misuse counseling– often for the first time.
For every 10 to 20 orders, at least one suicide was prevented.
After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 the annual number of gun removals increased about fivefold—to about 100 cases per year.
Public awareness of the law has a major impact (CA & MD)
While the data around these laws is relatively limited, the research we do have is telling
CT was the first state with this law, and the first to study it.
7 guns per order is a lot, especially when we consider the utility of these laws in preventing mass shootings
Deeply troubling that people are able to get to a point of potentially hurting themselves or others, before accessing support services. need for societal change to address mental health care inaccessibility.
Public awareness is crucial, post-VT, more people were eager to learn about the law and organizations published public info about the law
MD: Montgomery County Sheriff leading the way in training law enforcement and communities
CA: SD City Attorney created education presentation and template protocol for departments

11. Academic Research on FROs
San Diego, California 2019
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine looked at orders issued between 2016 and 2018 from across the state, and found 21 cases that disarmed potential mass shooters.
S.D. City Attorney’s Office analysis found:
Of the first 100 GVROs issued in 17’ & 18’: 40% the orders involved family violence or stalking. Suicidal threats were a factor in 25% of orders. Dementia, PTSD, or other mental health issues were cited in 18%. And 10% involved juveniles or adults who made threats on social media.
In SD County in 2018, more than 400 weapons and nearly 80,000 rounds of ammunition have been seized from 185 orders. L.A. County issued 31 orders, S.F. just 1.
Continuing on California’s examples
SD City Attorney has been their champion
They’ve studied the issuance of these orders in SD County, and found that their version of the FRO law disarmed 21 potential mass shooters
The City Attorney’s Office also recently published data about the underlying reasons these orders were petitioned for.
With such a high number before family violence or stalking, it shows us how crucial it is for family and household members to intervene if they observe loved ones exhibiting dangerous behaviors
This data also shows the utility these could have in reducing mass shootings and suicide (mental health issues, suicide threats, and social media threats)
The sheer volume of weapons and ammunition is truly troubling

12. What happens now?
With the FRO law in effect, we have a lot of work to do:
We know this law isn’t effective unless people are informed and empowered to use it
We’ve organized Speak for Safety Illinois, a campaign designed specifically to support the implementation of the FRO law
Now that the resources are up, we are partnering with community organizations of all backgrounds and localities, to spread the word
Chicagoland and Downstate
So Illinois has this law, what do we do now?
Organized Speak for Safety
Developed a series of resources, including a website, to promote info about the law
With those resources published, we are focused our efforts on partnering with community organizations of all backgrounds and localities
We have organizers in Chicagoland as well as Central and Southern Illinois, who are eager to connect with organizations and talk about this law

13. What can you do to help? Connect with us on social media
Here are some ways you or your organization can get involved:
Connect with us on social media
Follow and promote the Speak for Safety coalition’s social media account!
Facebook: Speak for Safety Coalition
You can also find us online at SpeakforsafetyIL.org
Please find us on Social Media, share our Facebook page, share our articles and events, etc.

14. What can you do to help? Connect with your Law Enforcement about FRO
It is important that the relevant agencies in your community are supporting the FRO law.
Connect with your local Sheriff’s Office and Police Department to see if they have a protocol in place to serve FROs.
For information about who your Sheriff is, visit: directory/
Call your State’s Attorney’s office to ask for any educational materials they have made or events they have scheduled to inform the community about the law.
To find your State’s Attorney please visit:
Reach out to your local circuit court for information about the FRO petitioning process.
Contact information for your local circuit court can be found here:
We invite you to Connect with the officials responsible for actually implementing this law
Ask questions about this law, how it works, and how to file in your community
Sheriff’s and local PDs can assist you in getting an order, and will serve them
SA’s can be a point of contact for how the law works, and provide resources
Circuit Courts are responsible for hearing, issuing orders. Do they have the paperwork?

15. What can you do to help?
Here are some ways you or your organization can get involved:
Talk to your colleagues about the FRO, and share our handouts and other resources on how a FRO can be a proactive tool to prevent gun violence (all of which are available online).
Invite a Speak for Safety IL representative to host an organizational training or community discussion on FRO, or use our materials at an event or meeting you plan to host or attend.
Include a reference to the FRO law and SpeakForSafetyIL.org in your next newsletter, blog post, or other publication.
Other opportunities/ideas? Please
In conclusion, these are the things you can do
Please reach out to us at if you have any feedback, or wish to organize an event in your community

16. Questions? Visit SpeakforSafety.org or email speak4safety@gmail.com
Visit SpeakforsafetyIL.org or
Visit SpeakforSafety.org or
Please feel free to ask any questions, or approach us for individual questions. You can also us at