"Red flag" laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders, mandate intervention to be taken on a case-by-case basis "where the risk of violence to others or to oneself is judged to be extraordinarily high," Wintemute said.
"More than 80% of people who commit a mass shooting, in some way, declare their intent in advance," Wintemute said. "Their family or their friends or their social media network are aware that something is going on. And that's where extremists protection orders have had their role."
"This is see something, say something," he said.
Trump has expressed his support for extreme risk protection orders in the past, similarly his daughter and senior advisor, Ivanka Trump, also called for an increase in "resources dedicated to mental health support."
Along that thread, Wintemute noted that most people working in the field of violence prevention refer to the laws by their more formal title of extreme risk protection orders, as "red flag" laws are non-specific and stigmatize members of the mental health community.
"The thing that concerns me the most, frankly, is that the metaphor, "red flag law," inspires fear," Wintemute said. "But we're not trying to make people afraid, we're trying to empower them, because for this to work, participation of individual members of the public is absolutely vital."
"It's focused on behavior," Wintemute said. "It's not focused on mental illness."