At the Start of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Gun Safety Advocates Take Stock of Progress Made to Address Gun Suicide, and the Continued Fight to Save Lives 

NEW YORK – September marks the start of National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to remember the lives taken by suicide, honor the survivors of suicide loss, and promote hope and healing. Every September, Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, recommit to honoring survivors of firearm suicide with action. 

Firearm suicides account for 53% percent of all suicides in the United States.

Having access to a firearm triples someone’s risk of death by suicide, and 90% of suicide attempts with a firearm are fatal. Stronger gun safety laws have the ability to prevent suicides, not just divert individuals in crisis to other means. In fact, research shows that states with strong gun laws have a significantly lower overall suicide rate than those states with weak gun laws, demonstrating that there is a role lawmakers across the country can play in addressing firearm suicide by enacting life-saving gun safety measures. If all states had the same gun suicide trend as states with the strongest gun laws, 72,000 fewer lives would have been taken by gun suicide over the past two decades. Gun safety measures such as Extreme Risk laws, waiting periods after firearm purchases, and those that require or encourage the secure storage of firearms save lives. 

Here’s a sample of the legislative progress that state lawmakers have made since last year’s Suicide Prevention Awareness Month: 

• Waiting Periods: Waiting period laws are associated with reduced suicide rates,  as this time creates a critical buffer between someone having a suicidal crisis and access to a gun.
  • Maine lawmakers enacted a 72-hour waiting period law, putting a life-saving buffer time before a person can take possession of a firearm after purchasing it. 
  • New Mexico lawmakers enacted a seven-day waiting period, ensuring that firearms aren’t being transferred during a moment of an acute mental health crisis. 
• Secure Storage: Properly securing and storing firearms, which means keeping them locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition, is effective in preventing gun suicide among children and teens. It is estimated that if half of households with children that have at least one unlocked gun switched to locking all their guns, one-third of youth gun suicides and unintentional deaths could be prevented, saving an estimated 251 lives in a single year. 

• Rhode Island lawmakers enacted a new law that expands and strengthens the previous statewide firearm storage law by requiring all gun owners to securely store their guns when not in use, either in a locked container or with a safety device that prevents unauthorized access. This law also requires gun dealers and school districts to provide educational materials on secure storage. 
  
• Virginia lawmakers enacted a law to expand Virginia’s secure firearm storage tax credit to include more devices such as cable locks, further encouraging firearm owners to securely store their guns.
  
• Georgia lawmakers enacted a law to create the state’s first Senate Safe Firearm Storage Study Committee. This committee is poised to play a vital role in laying the foundation for more comprehensive firearm storage laws and initiatives, which will ultimately contribute to safer communities across the state.
• Extreme Risk Laws: Extreme Risk Laws, also known as “Red Flag Laws” enable law enforcement, or in some cases family members and healthcare providers, to ask for a court order that temporarily removes guns from these dangerous situations and prohibits the person from buying new guns. These laws have been found to reduce suicide deaths in states across the country.
  
  • Massachusetts lawmakers strengthened the Commonwealth’s existing “Red Flag Law” to enable school administrators, and licensed healthcare providers to petition the court for an Extreme Risk Protection Order in addition to family members and law enforcement. 
• Voluntary Prohibitor: Individuals who know they are at risk for suicide can voluntarily block themselves from purchasing, and in some cases possessing, a firearm for a limited period of time, known as Voluntary Do Not Buy Lists or Voluntary Prohibition Lists. 
  
  • Delaware lawmakers enacted a law establishing a voluntary ‘do-not-sell’ program which would allow people to temporarily prohibit themselves from purchasing or otherwise obtaining firearms. 

Many states across the country are still lacking these foundational gun safety measures that can, and do, help prevent gun suicide. Lawmakers at every level of government should continue fighting against firearm suicide by advancing and passing these measures. 

In addition to advocating for stronger gun safety laws at the federal, state and local level, one of the most important things that individuals can do to prevent firearm suicide is educate themselves and their loved ones about the continuum of intervention that they can utilize to reduce access to firearms when someone is in crisis. More information about the continuum of intervention is here. 

Individuals can also advocate for secure storage in their communities through the Be SMART program. Nationwide, the Be SMART program promotes awareness of the importance of secure gun storage to prevent child access to guns and reduce tragedies, including youth suicide. More information on the Be SMART program is here. 

This month, volunteers with Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action will be advocating for secure storage resolutions with their local school boards and boards of education. They will also be advocating for proclamations with their local school boards and boards of education to recognize National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. 

More information on gun suicide is available here. Additional resources for gun suicide survivors are available here. To speak with a policy expert, Moms Demand Action and/or Students Demand Action volunteer, or survivor of gun violence, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org/chat to chat with a counselor from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress anywhere in the US.