Dr. Rosenberg argued that the prevention of gun violence and gun rights are not in conflict with each other. It is possible, he said, to come up with policies that protect both the rights of gun owners and public health. Dr Swanson believes red flag laws are just such a policy. The push for them was 10 years in the making.
In January 2013, just weeks after a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Daniel Webster, a pioneer in the field of gun violence research, agreed to a two-day summit on reducing gun violence.
Together with mr. Horwitz, led dr. Webster Hopkins’ Center for Solutions to Gun Violence. Mr. Horwitz manages advocacy, while dr. Webster oversees academic research. The purpose of the summit, said dr. Webster said, was to compile evidence-based “recommendations for what policymakers should do to address gun violence in America” and publish it quickly, to influence congressional negotiations.
But the resulting book – including chapters by Dr. Swanson and Dr. Wintemute – failed to move members of Congress, who did not pass any new laws.
Two months later, Mr. Horwitz agreed to a research consortium, he said, “to really think about how to deal with this issue of firearms, mass shooting, suicide, without stigmatizing people with mental illness.”
Soon the dr. Swanson, mr. Horwitz and others in the consortium began traveling the country, promoting evidence-based policies, including red flag laws, to state lawmakers. In 2014, California became the first state since Indiana to pass a red flag law. Today, 19 states and the District of Columbia have it.