States have until December to apply for more than $257 million in federal grant funding that would help them to implement extreme risk protection order (ERPO) programs and other crisis interventions to reduce gun violence.
The Department of Justice posted a solicitation for the funding online on Wednesday.
A recent Newsy investigation found ERPO laws are used to remove guns, temporarily, from people who pose a danger to themselves or others.
Nineteen states and Washington, D.C. currently have Red Flag laws.
According to the Department of Justice, states may apply for funding, but 40 percent of the grants must be passed through to local governments.
The funding may be used for the “creation and/or implementation of extreme risk protection order programs, state crisis intervention court proceedings, and related gun violence reduction programs/initiatives.”
The grants may also be used for research but cannot be used to create or modify legislation.
"No federally appropriated funding made available under the grant program may be used, either directly or indirectly, to support the enactment, repeal, modification, or adoption of any law, regulation, or policy at any level of government,” the DOJ said.
