Donate

In the Washington Post: Correcting the Record on Red Flag Laws

May 7, 2021 | Letters That We Submitted

Letters that we submitted op-ed Red Flag Laws Response to critics

While there were many other errors in Robyn Thomas’ piece on Red Flag laws, the Washington Post allowed Dr. John Lott a chance to respond to her criticism of his work. A data file with a list of all the state laws and there content is available here.

Robyn Thomas’s April 25 Outlook essay, “Five Myths: Red-flag laws,” mischaracterized laws in ways that helped her advance the Giffords Law Center’s gun-control effort. She attacked my work showing that Baker Act/involuntary commitment laws are more effective than red-flag laws at dealing with people who are a danger to themselves or others. They offer judges a broader array of tools than just taking away a person’s guns, and provide the accused more legal protections, such as covering the cost of hearings for those who can’t afford it.

Thomas claimed that alternatives to red-flag laws “typically apply only after a violent act has been committed.” But 50 states have Baker Act-type laws, and all allow individuals to be evaluated before a violent act is committed. Both Baker Act and red-flag laws try to anticipate whether someone will commit harm.

Red-flag laws are overwhelmingly used when someone is seen as a suicide risk, yet the process doesn’t include mental health experts. Nor are these experts included when evaluating the risk to others.

John R. Lott Jr.,

Missoula, Mont. 

The writer is president of the Crime Prevention Research Center. 

Letters to the Editor, Washington Post, May 7, 2021

johnrlott

2 Comments

    • johnrlott
      johnrlott on May 11, 2021 at 1:38 AM

      Thank you very much, Janis.

Categories

Archives

UPDATED: Despite Lula’s Campaign Promises, the Number of Licensed Firearm Owners in Brazil Increased by at least 18% Between 2022 and 2026, and total guns owned up slightly be 3.3%

UPDATED: Despite Lula’s Campaign Promises, the Number of Licensed Firearm Owners in Brazil Increased by at least 18% Between 2022 and 2026, and total guns owned up slightly be 3.3%

by | Apr 25, 2026 | ,

UPDATE: Data directly from the Federal Police shows a different set of numbers. The number of CAC licenses in Brazil increased from 867,472 in 2022 to 1,026,633 in 2026 (see screenshots below), but those are internal government numbers that links aren't available for....

So is there really a question of whether Trump reduced crime in DC? Did the Washington Post inaccurately report murder data to make the drop look smaller than it actually is?

So is there really a question of whether Trump reduced crime in DC? Did the Washington Post inaccurately report murder data to make the drop look smaller than it actually is?

by | Apr 25, 2026 | ,

The Washington Post doesn't really want to give President Trump credit for the drop in crime in DC. Please look at the graph above and notice that there was a discrete change in August and September 2025 (and the change only started about half way through August on...