Why has the "red flag" gun law resulted in so few red flags?

Since Virginia's red flag gun law was passed in 2020, local police have only used it twice. Why is this law designed to prevent gun violence not being used?

In the aftermath of the shooting in the parking lot of the Harris Teeter in Crozet in February, which claimed the lives of three people, including the shooter, 28-year-old Justin Barbour, who was shot and killed by an off-duty federal officer exiting the store, we learned that police twice responding to calls concerning Barbour’s mental health within two months of the shooting.

While the community applauded the heroics of the off-duty officer, who likely saved lives that day, many also wondered why Virginia’s red flag law, which allows police to temporarily seize someone’s firearms if they’re suspected of being a threat to themselves or others, wasn’t used on Barbour.

In December 2024, knowing about the guns he owned and worried about his declining mental health, Barbour’s family asked authorities to issue an Emergency Custody Order (ECO), which allows police…