William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice
Abstract
This Note examines how the creation and implementation of a federal extreme risk protection order (ERPO) statute would impact federal investigations, mass shooting prevention, and the reduction of firearm deaths at large. While ERPOs exist in several states, there is currently no federal statutory scheme to allow federal law enforcement agencies to pursue ERPOs against citizens at risk of harming themselves or others with firearms. By examining the current legal landscape of state-level ERPOs, federal agencies’ investigatory procedures and failures, constitutional and racial equity concerns, and industry best practices, this Note aims to explore what a federal ERPO statute could look like in practice and how it could take its most effective form. This Note looks to answer the central question of whether empowering federal investigatory agencies, such as the FBI, with ERPO filing powers could help to disrupt and reduce firearm violence in the United States, particularly by examining successes and failures at the state level. These analyses lead to the conclusion that a federal ERPO statute would help reduce firearms deaths by expanding the reach of current ERPO laws to all fifty states, enabling federal law enforcement to use their expansive investigatory resources to combat firearm violence more directly, and by building a more expansive ERPO infrastructure within the federal government.