Community helping reduce access to lethal means
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Free combination gun locks are available while supplies last at DynoMart in Ronan; Joe’s Jiffy Stop in Pablo; Cenex in Ronan; Pizza Cafe in Ronan; and Charlo Grocery in Charlo.
Due to the huge success we had with the lethal means campaign this past December, we were able to distribute 750 gunlocks within 72 hours within our community. Thank you for taking responsibility and your willingness to reduce access to lethal means. Suicides typically spike in spring, not October, November or December. So, with Montana being one of many gun-ownership states, we are also a state with double the suicide rate than states with low rates of gun ownership. The difference is not because people in gun-owning states are more suicidal than people in states where fewer people own guns, but that suicide attempts in states with lots of guns produce more completed suicides.
Factors that often lead to someone seriously considering ending their lives are often attributed to drugs, alcohol dependence, abuse, depression, mental health illnesses, impulsivity, aggression, family history, previous attempts, losses, setbacks, arrest and job problems. Some cultural factors may also play a role, but more common is the feeling of hopelessness.
Suicides rarely happen “out of the blue.” Attempters typically face multiple problems-some long term, some short term. The most powerful risk factor for suicide deaths is attributed to the availability of highly lethal means. In the U.S. that means guns. Reducing access to lethal means is something we can all do to increase the odds that a suicide attempt will end in care, not death.
All U.S. studies that have compared individuals who have died by suicide have found that a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide and this is true for all ages, but particularly for youth. Studies that compare states with high and low gun-ownership levels find that where there are more guns, there are more suicides. Montana is one of those high-gun states. How do young suicide victims get a gun? Too often, youth use their parents’ guns. Parents may believe that their guns are “hidden” or that their kids would never use them in a suicide attempt, but parents routinely underestimate youths’ ability to find and handle guns at home.
Among gun-owning households, the risk of youth suicide is lower in those storing all guns locked and unloaded than in those storing guns less securely. Here are some responses to a question asked of parents: “Has Your Child Handled Your Gun in Your Home?” In homes where 70 percent of the parents reported "No," 30 percent of the children reported "Yes."
What you can do:
• Store guns away from the home (particularly if a family member or friend is going through a difficult time with depression, drug or alcohol problems, divorce, arrest, domestic abuse, partner assault)
• Have someone trustworthy temporarily keep the guns stored away from the home
• Make sure guns are locked and unloaded and kept in a securely locked cabinet or safe (make sure it truly can’t be opened by an unauthorized person).
• Use cabinets that don’t have glass or flimsy locks)
• Use trigger locks
• Keep ammunition locked away separately
• Practice safe firearm storage options in the home
• Make certain that firearms in the home are not casually accessible to anyone — especially a child.
Roxana Colman-Herak
Circle of Trust Youth Suicide Prevention Program
