Extreme Risk Protection Order

Every year, over one hundred thousand people are victims of gunshot wounds, and more than thirty thousand of those victims lose their lives. RCW 7.94.010. Often, these acts of violence are committed against family or household members. To combat this problem, Washington State voters approved Extreme Risk Protection Orders through ballot 1491 in November 2016. The law that pertains to this issue is RCW 7.94.

An Extreme Risk Protection Order is a new type of protection order. Specifically, it is a court order that temporarily restricts a person from having access to firearms if there is evidence that the person is threatening to harm themselves or others. RCW 7.94. The person being restricted is called the respondent. Under an Extreme Risk Protection Order, the respondent must surrender all firearms and concealed pistol licenses to police. Additionally, the respondent is prohibited from having a firearm in his or her custody or control, and may not purchase, possess, receive, or attempt to purchase a firearm. http://protectionorder.org/erpo/faq-extreme-risk-protection-orders.html.

Under RCW 7.94, a family or household member may file a petition asking the court to issue an Extreme Risk Protection Order against someone else. RCW 7.94.020 defines a family or household member as a: (1) person related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the respondent; (2) dating partner of the respondent; (3) person who has a child in common with the respondent, regardless of whether such person has been married to the respondent or has lived together with the respondent at any time; (4) person who resides or has resided with the respondent within the past year; (5) domestic partner of the respondent; (6) person who has a biological or legal parent-child relationship with the respondent, including stepparents and stepchildren and grandparents and grandchildren; or (7) a person who is acting or has acted as the respondent’s legal guardian.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders last one year, and may be renewed for additional one-year periods. However, you can only renew the order after 260 days have passed from the time the initial order was entered. It is important to remember that Extreme Risk Protection Orders only restrict access to firearms. They do not protect people in other ways, such as keeping a respondent away from the petitioner. If a petitioner wishes to restrict someone from being near them, it is a good idea to file for a Domestic Violence Protection Order or Restraining Order, depending on the person’s situation.

As stated earlier, for a court to grant a petitioner an Extreme Risk Protection Order, the petitioner must demonstrate that the respondent has a high risk of harming themselves or others. To do this, a petitioner can show that the respondent engages in certain behaviors such as threats of violence, self-harm, or the abuse of drugs or alcohol. RCW 7.94.010.

This new type of Protection Order demonstrates a huge progression in society. Its purpose and intent is to reduce gun deaths and injuries, while still respecting citizen’s constitutional rights. RCW 7.94.010.