Any gun owner in Massachusetts can be Red Flagged and forced into the Nut House.
If they want you, you are going no matter what.
At least for a 72 hour hold.
If that is the case, can you just go voluntarily to avoid losing your gun rights in the end?
Probably
Almost anyone can red flag you, but red flag is a means to confiscate firearms. It has nothing to do with forcing you into a nuthouse.
Now forcing you into a nut house, someone has to sign off "You are a dangerous to yourself or someone else" (which many people can do), and even then in MA, it's not a commitment.
The whole pink slip thing in MA is a
request for evaluation (not a commitment) during which they can hold you for 72 hours. You are still not disqualified. During that 72 hours the vast majority of people agree to a conditional voluntary status...meaning the legal process is almost done with you. You agree to stay for evaluation/treatment and give them notice that you intend to leave and at that time they can chose to pursue commitment (with a judge) or release you. Most everyone leaves when their insurance runs out.
If during that 72 hours you do not sign a conditional voluntary, it falls upon the hospital to 1) release you or 2) make the case
TO A JUDGE that you should be held. If the later is done and the judge says yes, then you are prohibited. Very few people meet the legal bar of "committed" to bar them from firearms.
Now some states (VA and CA if memory serves) specifically ask if you ever were ordered in-patient and changed to voluntary, but it's usually limited to something like "in the last 5 years". And to me, if a state is determined to make conditional stays grounds for denial, then it should have a limited shelf-life (5 years for instance). I think one state has a 3-strikes rule too...you can have voluntary stays, but once you go in a 3rd time, you're disqualified.
This is the issue I have with some towns in RI that do their own thing and ask for medical release form (which I think legally they're on thin ice). They can get that voluntary stay info and use it against you later. There is no time when the info is so old it becomes irrelevant. Also they're getting squishy with their wording in some towns and say "confined or
treated for mental illness". Well Jeez that can cover almost anything....I was feeling depressed during my divorce...and went to a therapist for a year or two. I think the only thing that does not count is marriage counseling.
Sad to say I have way too much experience with this being an some EMT 30+ years ago and being married to a person in and out of facilities for 20 years (sometimes voluntary, sometimes NOT).
Now admittedly they were pretty anal about things back then in the 1990's. All you had to say in an ER was the wrong thing and you'd be going for a ride in the ambulance, but my buddy tells me they're a little more
discerning now. An actual attempt or plan/threats to do harm is usual the litmus test