A Decade of ERPO: what does the evidence say about the use, effectiveness and opportunities for improving implementation and impact of this important firearm violence prevention tool?

ERPO is a promising firearm violence prevention policy intervention.

This Special Collection will focus on three topic areas:

1. How ERPO laws are being implemented and the factors associated with good implementation outcomes
2. Evaluations of ERPO impact on violence indicators
3. Commentaries that include evidence-informed recommendations for policy development or implementation

California enacted the first modern ERPO law in 2014 with an effective date of January 1, 2016. In 2024, 21 states and the District of Columbia have an ERPO law. As we approach the 10th year of ERPO implementation, tens of thousands of ERPO orders have been issued. While there have been several descriptive studies, and accumulating evidence from hypothesis-testing research is pointing to associations between ERPO use/ERPO laws and suicides averted, many questions remain. We lack descriptive evidence from most states where ERPO is law, comparisons of different implementation models are lacking, and few papers address population impacts on homicide and suicide rates. In addition, understanding the equity implications of the policy and its implementation, especially the underutilization by communities that have high levels of firearm homicide (e.g., Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and firearm suicide (e.g., veterans), is in need of rigorous and thoughtful scholarship. Questions about how advocacy has impacted the adoption, design and implementation of ERPO hold insights with broad implications for advancing public health. This collection will provide a comprehensive platform to guide the next 10 years of ERPO policy development and implementation.