Imagine a close friend calls during an emotional crisis. They have been struggling with depression and increasingly have talked using language that seems more and more like suicidal ideation. You also know this friend owns firearms, so you begin to explore what options exist to get your friend the help they need to stay safe.
In 21 states and the District of Columbia, one option to help a family member or loved one showing signs of crisis is an Extreme Risk Protection Order, or an ERPO for short. Such orders are also known as “Red Flag Laws.” The idea behind these laws is to act before a tragedy occurs. They allow loved ones or law enforcement to intervene by petitioning a court to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing a firearm. Research shows these laws are associated with a reduction in state suicide rates as well as preventing would be mass shooter situations.
Montana is a state which has ranked in the top five for rates of suicides for 40 years. Montana’s rate for gun deaths is 21.5 per 100K, higher than the national average. 82% of those deaths are suicides. Guns are the second leading cause of death for Montana children and teens.
Now imagine: your close friend lives in Montana. Because of the GOP members in the 2025 Montana Legislature, the lifesaving measure of using an ERPO is gone. HB 809 took away the right of local governments in Montana to enact or enforce Red Flag Laws. The bill clearly undermines local governance, limiting resources which could have been acquired for community safety and mental health. It was recently signed into law by Gov. GregGianforte.
The lawmaker carrying this bill was Rep. Braxton Mitchell (R-Columbia Falls). Eight of Mitchell’s peers in the Flathead Valley died by suicide between 2018-2021. Still, every GOP lawmaker in the area supported this bill. Senator John Fuller was called out for sexist remarks during its discussion when he characterized support for Red Flag Laws from a female lawmaker as “histrionics”.
After the bill passed, on Mother’s Day this year, in Kalispell, a family of four was discovered dead after a 911 call made by the father alarmed local law enforcement. Among those killed in this murder-suicide were a 6-year-old child and a 7-month-old infant.
If this father was strictly suicidal, ERPO could have allowed police to temporarily remove his firearms. If this was domestic abuse, the Republican-led legislature declined to fix a legal loophole created by a federal court decision in January. This loophole made Montana the only state where those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence can carry a gun. It was a decision most experts viewed as an “absurd result.” No common-sense measures to help this situation exist, again due to GOP lawmakers.
A poll by the NRA showed that 63% of gun owners support Red Flag Laws. A Fox News poll showed that 80% of Americans support them as well. These laws are a critical tool used when evidence clearly exists of someone being an imminent risk to themselves or others.
Unfortunately, in Montana, we are now banned from helping our families or keeping our communities safe with any life-saving measures.
Janet Armstrong, Helena
Emily Casey, RN Kalispell
Coburn and Emily Currier, Helena
Lynne Dickman, Missoula
Rev. Su DeBree, Helena
Julie Hayes, Cutbank
Erin Harris, Helena
Shani Henry, Helena
J.M. Kinsella, Missoula
Rich and Kiely Lammers, Billings
Tara Lee, RN Kalispell
Valeri McGarvey, Kalispell
Jessica Merkley, Anaconda
Leslie Mullett, Missoula
Beckie Squires, Helena
Lillian Ruth Thomas, Missoula
Shannon and Jim Thomas, Helena
Karen Ulen, Helena
Roxane Weikel, Missoula
Tiffany Williams, Florence
Ione Young, Billings