6 May 9 • 2019
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views

A 

USA Today/Suffolk University 
poll in December 2018 found 
that Republicans, Democrats 
and Independents all said bipartisan 
cooperation topped their wish list 
for what they would 
like to see in 2019. 
Amid our country’
s 
current political 
 
polarization, it is 
easy to understand 
why this aspiration 
is shared across the 
political spectrum. 
Bipartisan 
cooperation depends 
on identifying concerns and ideas 
shared by Republicans, Democrats 
and Independents. Last month, in 
what feels like an unusual moment 
for 2019, the Republican-led U.S. 
Senate Judiciary Committee held 
a hearing on a concept that can 
reduce suicides and interpersonal 
violence: extreme risk protection 
orders that authorize judges to 
temporarily remove firearms from 
individuals when persuasive evidence 
shows that they pose a danger to 
themselves or others. News reports 
on the hearing indicated that the 
Committee chairman, Sen. Lindsey 
Graham (R-SC), as well as the senior 

Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein 
(D-CA), both made favorable 
comments about this violence 
reduction mechanism.
Discussions related to gun policy 
are assumed to produce heated 
arguments between Republicans 
and Democrats. Yet, the extent 
of partisan disagreement actually 
depends on which gun policies 
are being debated. Extreme risk 
protection orders attract support 
from Americans of all political 
persuasions. Nearly two-thirds 
of gun deaths in the United 
States annually are the result of 
suicides, an issue that tragically 
affects families without regard 
to political affiliation or place of 
residence. Indeed, firearms suicides 
occur at markedly higher rates in 
rural areas than in urban areas. 
In addition, research shows the 
risk of shootings associated with 
domestic violence may be reduced 
if there is a mechanism to remove 
firearms during periods of severe 
interpersonal conflict. Women, in 
particular, face disproportionate 
risks of harm in the context of these 
conflicts. 
Public opinion surveys in 
Michigan and nationally confirm 

that strong majority support exists 
for this mechanism to reduce deaths 
and injuries. An EPIC-MRA poll in 
March 2019 found that more than 
70 percent of Michiganders support 
extreme risk protection orders. A 
national survey by the Associated 
Press and the National Opinion 
Research Center at the University of 
Chicago, also in March 2019, found 
that nearly 70 percent of gunowners 
supported such orders and more 
than 80 percent of people living in 
homes without guns agreed.
In February 2019, bills were 
proposed in the Michigan legislature 
(including Senate Bills 156-158 
referred to the Senate Government 
Operations committee and House 
Bills 4283-4285 referred to the House 
Judiciary Committee) to enable 
our state to join 14 other states, 
including Indiana and Florida, that 
already authorize judges to take 
action based on persuasive evidence 
about extreme risks posed by 
someone’
s possession of a firearm. 
The proposed Extreme Risk 
Protection Order Act provides 
the affected individual with the 
opportunity to challenge the judge’
s 
decision and limits the applicability 
of the order to one year, unless 

recent evidence justifies renewal of 
the order. The proposed law strikes 
a balance between acting quickly 
to reduce risk and preserving due 
process rights for the affected 
individual. Other states have already 
pioneered this approach to harm 
reduction so Michigan can benefit 
from their experience.
When Americans across the 
political spectrum find common 
ground in proposals to address 
difficult problems, it is important 
for legislators from both parties to 
notice and take action. Sen. Lindsey 
Graham’
s Judiciary Committee in 
the U.S. Senate set an example for 
serious bipartisan examination and 
discussion of a violence-reduction 
approach that has been supported 
by Republicans and Democrats. At 
this very moment, Michigan’
s state 
legislators have the opportunity to 
consider seriously — in an open and 
bipartisan manner — the proposed 
Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, 
an established concept that enjoys 
broad support across the political 
spectrum. ■ See story on page 12.

Christopher Smith is professor of criminal 
justice at Michigan State University and 
chairperson of the Michigan Coalition to 
Prevent Gun Violence.

A Bipartisan Approach to Reduce Risks

Christopher 
E. Smith,
J.D., Ph.D.
Contributing Writer

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