Red Flag Law petitions skyrocket statewide since Buffalo shooting
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Let’s go in-depth on an existing gun law in New York State that has been used more often recently.
The number of Red Flag Law petitions in the state has skyrocketed in the five weeks since the mass shooting in Buffalo on May 14. The Red Flag Law allows families, police officers, and others to ask federal courts to order the removal of firearms from people at extreme risk of harming themselves or others.
Since the Red Flag or "extreme risk protection orders" began on August 25, 2019, the state averaged about 44 per month. Since the tragedy in buffalo, there have been 321.
RELATED: Monroe County sees its first-ever ‘red-flag’ petitions
Before the Buffalo shooting, no Red Flag petitions had been filed in Monroe County. In the three weeks after the shooting, three were filed in the county.
