{"id":4875,"date":"2026-06-21T13:07:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T13:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875"},"modified":"2026-06-21T13:07:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T13:07:25","slug":"commentary-is-florida-paying-attention-to-red-flag-laws-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875","title":{"rendered":"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

When states design red-flag laws, they tend to operate from a few working assumptions: that limiting petitions to law enforcement will suppress usage, that conservative political environments will resist implementation and that restrictive access means lower effectiveness. These assumptions shape legislation, drive advocacy and inform the research that policymakers rely on.<\/p>\n

Read more Commentary: What a Puerto Rican teacher learns in Florida\u2019s school system<\/a><\/p>\n

Florida has spent six years quietly disproving all of them. The question is whether anyone, including Florida itself, is paying attention.<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s Risk Protection Order law was never designed to win praise from gun-safety advocates. Passed in the weeks after Parkland, it deliberately limits petitions to law enforcement only, a design choice that reform-minded states have actively moved away from. It classifies violations as third-degree felonies rather than misdemeanors. It is a conservative law, built by a conservative Legislature, in a state that has since gone on to pass permitless carry.<\/p>\n

And it works. Nearly 4,700 RPO petitions were filed in the first two years alone. Judicial approval rates exceed 95% for temporary orders. Law enforcement agencies across politically diverse counties, from South Florida to the Panhandle, file at comparable rates. Half of respondents stipulate, agreeing to the order without a legal fight. These are not the numbers you would expect from a \u201crestrictive\u201d law in a \u201cgun-friendly\u201d state, which is precisely why they rarely show up in the national conversation about what a good ERPO policy looks like.<\/p>\n

The dominant policy framework assumes that broader access equals better outcomes. Give family members direct petition access, as California does, and more people get protected. Make the law more civil and less law enforcement-dependent, the thinking goes, and implementation will follow. Florida is an uncomfortable data point for that framework. Its law-enforcement-only model has not suppressed utilization. It may have actually driven it, by giving officers ownership of the process and confidence that the orders they file will carry real legal weight.<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s model gets described as a surprising success and gets left at that. Florida is not being looked upon as a model for other states, but it probably should be. But here is the harder conversation: Florida has not fully absorbed its own lessons either.<\/p>\n

The same factors that explain Florida\u2019s statewide success also explain why it remains uneven. Thirty-five rural counties have filed fewer than 10 RPOs total. Broward County, ground zero for the tragedy that produced this law, shows minimal correlation between areas of concentrated gun violence and where RPOs are actually filed. The counties that perform best are not the ones with the most permissive political environments or the most gun violence. They are the ones that built dedicated infrastructure. such as Pinellas, Hillsborough and Polk.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018All sideshows:\u2019 Bullhorn, prosthetic leg and upset in Florida GOP governor\u2019s race<\/a><\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s own statewide behavioral threat assessment training rollout offers another data point: RPO filings increased roughly 58% in its wake. Officers who are trained to recognize escalating risk patterns file more orders, not because the law changed, but because their capacity to apply it did.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This is the model Florida has already built, even if unevenly. Dedicated units. Specialized training. Deliberate investments that produce measurable results.<\/p>\n

The rural counties filing near zero RPOs are not failing because red-flag laws do not work in conservative communities. Florida\u2019s own data disproves that. They are falling behind because they have not received the same investment in training, coordination and organizational support that higher-performing counties have. The law on the books is identical. The implementation infrastructure is not.<\/p>\n

Florida does not need a different law. It needs to finish building what it started, extending the training, the dedicated units and the institutional support to the communities that still exist outside the system it has already proven works.<\/p>\n

The national debate will keep arguing about which ERPO design is philosophically correct. Florida already has evidence. The question is whether it will use it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Christopher Carita is a retired detective based in South Florida, where he specialized in investigating threats of mass gun violence and implementation of Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) programs. He is an adviser for 97Percent.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Editorial: Red flags are flying over Orlando\u2019s hasty historic-preservation rule<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida’s Risk Protection Order law was never designed to win praise from gun-safety advocates. It is a conservative law, built by a conservative Legislature, in a state that has since gone on to pass permitless carry. And it works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nCommentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success? - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success? - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Florida's Risk Protection Order law was never designed to win praise from gun-safety advocates. It is a conservative law, built by a conservative Legislature, in a state that has since gone on to pass permitless carry. And it works.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-21T13:07:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-21T13:07:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875\"},\"wordCount\":716,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/30891272e7c2efcee23c62d2b960155d.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\",\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875\",\"name\":\"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success? - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/30891272e7c2efcee23c62d2b960155d.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-21T13:07:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/30891272e7c2efcee23c62d2b960155d.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/30891272e7c2efcee23c62d2b960155d.webp\",\"width\":491,\"height\":514},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4875#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success? - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success? - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"Florida's Risk Protection Order law was never designed to win praise from gun-safety advocates. It is a conservative law, built by a conservative Legislature, in a state that has since gone on to pass permitless carry. And it works.","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-21T13:07:25+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success?","datePublished":"2026-06-21T13:07:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875"},"wordCount":716,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/30891272e7c2efcee23c62d2b960155d.webp","articleSection":["Commentary","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875","name":"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success? - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/30891272e7c2efcee23c62d2b960155d.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-21T13:07:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/30891272e7c2efcee23c62d2b960155d.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/30891272e7c2efcee23c62d2b960155d.webp","width":491,"height":514},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4875#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commentary: Is Florida paying attention to red-flag laws\u2019 success?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}