Weatherford, TX — A recent analysis of national suicide data has dealt a devastating blow to one of the gun control lobby’s most common talking points: that “red flag” laws save lives.

According to the data, states that have implemented red flag laws—also known as “Extreme Risk Protection Orders”—have actually seen higher increases in firearm-related suicides than states that have rejected such policies.

Between 2019 and 2023, firearm-related suicides increased by 11% in red flag states, while states without red flag laws saw an 8% increase.

These are not marginal differences.

These are statistics that undercut the entire rationale for red flag laws, which have been sold to the public as life-saving measures to prevent suicide and violence.

Instead, what we see is clear: red flag laws don’t work.

Red Flag Laws: A Failed Premise

The core promise of red flag laws is simple—if you allow the government to preemptively confiscate firearms without due process, lives will be saved.

This premise has fueled emotional testimonies in legislative chambers, cable news headlines, and anti-gun lobbying campaigns across the country.

But what the numbers now show is that there is no discernible benefit to red flag laws when it comes to saving lives from suicide.

If anything, the higher rate of increase in firearm suicides in red flag states raises serious questions about the unintended consequences of such laws.

Red flag laws don’t come with mental health evaluations. They don’t offer follow-up treatment. They don’t provide counseling or crisis intervention.

They just take away the gun, and in many cases, leave the individual in isolation and despair—now without one of the few tools they may have used for self-defense or peace of mind.

Texas Gets It Right

Here in Texas, we’ve had enough of these hollow, rights-stripping policies parading as public safety.

Thanks to grassroots pressure from Texas Gun Rights and its tens of thousands of supporters across the state, the Texas Legislature just passed Senate Bill 1362, a bill that bans red flag-style laws in Texas outright, which is awaiting Governor Abbott’s signature.

During debate in the Texas legislature, supporters of red flag laws predictably trotted out the tired claim that these laws “save lives” — especially in terms of suicide prevention — but this new data proves the opposite.

There’s no meaningful improvement, no consistent reduction in suicides — in fact the data shows the opposite — and certainly no justification for gutting due process and trampling the Second Amendment.

If anything, the data affirms what we’ve said all along: red flag laws aren’t about safety—they’re about control.