LISETTE JOHNSON: I did not identify as someone who was abused or experiencing domestic violence, because I felt like I was, you know, accomplished.

I owned a business.

I actually owned two businesses.

You know, I had a big network of friends so I didn't fit what I thought was the profile of a battered woman.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: After 21 years of marriage and two children, Lisette Johnson of Chesterfield told her husband she wanted a divorce.

She says he'd verbally abused her and threatened her life.

In 2009, she'd returned home from church and, LISETTE JOHNSON: he said, 'I love you too much to live without you' and then aim the gun at my head, and started shooting.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: After shooting her, Lisette's husband shot and killed himself.

Today, she works with survivors of domestic abuse and is an advocate for stronger gun safety laws.

LISETTE JOHNSON: And the substantial risk order would've been exactly what I could have used.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: The substantial risk order, commonly known as a red flag law, prevents a person who poses a threat to themselves or others from possessing or purchasing a firearm for up to 180 days.

The state's chief medical examiner reported a gun is used in nearly two thirds of intimate partner murders in Virginia, and according to the Gifford's Law Center while guns are used in only 5% of suicide attempts, they are responsible for half of suicide deaths.

Lisette wonders, if the red flag law could have helped her and her family LISETTE JOHNSON: Had he not had a gun, things would've been different and good or bad, my children would've had a father that they could get some closure with.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: Since the law was enacted, guns were seized across Virginia through risk orders nearly 400 times.

Northern Virginia's Fairfax County accounts for nearly one third of those risk orders, the most in the state.

AMANDA PARIS: We, a lot of the times get called to mental health crisises where someone is wanting to kill themselves by utilizing a firearm.

In those cases, our officers are obtaining an emergency substantial risk order to be able to take that firearm away from that person at the time until they can get the treatment that they might need to get their firearms back.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: Sergeant Amanda Paris is the department's emergency substantial risk order coordinator.

Fairfax PD says 61% of the risk order is obtained or related to mental health concerns and 25% are domestic violence threats.

AMANDA PARIS: I will say that I have seen people who have, the officers have obtained a substantial risk order out on them, gone through the court process and be able to successfully receive their firearms back.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: The law doesn't require the gun owner to seek mental health treatment, but proponents say it presents an opportunity for people to get help.

Critics of the law worry it infringes on gun owners' Second Amendment rights.

GILBERT AMBLER: Advocates on the other side are gonna say this is about sort of proactively saving lives.

I would tell you it's really about guns and guns alone.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: Attorney Gilbert Ambler has defended Virginians who've faced red flag law orders.

He argues the law doesn't reduce danger.

GILBERT AMBLER: With the red flag laws, we leave the person in place.

The person who's harassing another person who's threatening another person, who's potentially threatening themselves.

That person is still there.

All we do is we remove firearms from them.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: Also, substantial risk orders are civil charge so they won't show up on someone's permanent record.

But Ambler argues that limits due process.

GILBERT AMBLER: There is no right to a court appointed attorney.

So if you don't have the means to obtain an attorney it means you wind up handling these things without counsel, which I think everyone is better served when there's counsel present ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: While critical of Virginia's red flag law, Ambler says there is one thing it gets right.

GILBERT AMBLER: This law has a lot of bad parts about it, but one of the helpful things that they did when they wrote this law was they required an independent investigation to occur.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: Before submitting a request to remove firearms, Virginia's police must substantiate claims of a threat.

Ambler says, if there's enough evidence police should press criminal charges.

But advocates of the law like Lisette insist it's a valuable tool for law enforcement.

LISETTE JOHNSON: And here we have this phenomenal law that when somebody is showing signs of distress, we can make sure that they don't have the lethal means to hurt themselves or others.