Guns and Suicide: Breaking the Connection

“Do you have a gun in your home?”

This is a question doctors are increasingly asking their patients.

“[Gun owners] who are feeling depressed or suicidal may be hesitant to call for help if they think their guns will be taken away.”

The goal, health officials say of this new push, is to better determine if a person is depressed and at risk of hurting himself or others. Sadly, however, the question may be the one thing keeping needy gun owners from ever going to the doctor.

Vermont is the latest state that is taking matters into its own hands in an effort to save lives. The Department of Mental Health there has teamed up with gun owner groups, the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, and the Center for Health and Learning in a unique new partnership aimed at suicide prevention.

“One of the concerns is that [gun owners] who are feeling depressed or suicidal may be very hesitant to call for help if they think that it’s going to cause their guns to be taken away,” Alex Potter, with the Center for Health and Learning, said.

“We’re trying to de-stigmatize the concept that mental health is something you shouldn’t have any problems with — everyone has problems sometimes.”

The Vermont Gun Shop Project is modeled after a New Hampshire program that began in 2009. Gun shop owners and firing ranges in that state for years now have been provided materials on how to avoid selling or renting a firearm to a potentially suicidal customer. They have also been encouraged to display and distribute suicide prevention materials tailored to their customers.

Vermont, impressed with what New Hampshire has done, is taking the initiative several steps further.

Training kicked off this spring for what is being called the “Gatekeepers” program — and anyone can take part.

[lz_bulleted_list title=”Gun Related Suicides in Vermont” source=”Center for Health and Learning”]2013: 59 of 65 suicides were firearm-related deaths (91%)|2012: 50 of 56 (89%)|2011: 70 of 78 (90%)|2010: 66 of 70 (94%)|2009: 59 of 60 (98%)[/lz_bulleted_list]

“The concept is that anybody can be a gatekeeper and open the gate for someone who is having trouble — help them walk through that gate to get help. The training [sessions] are about two hours and focus on the risk factors for suicide, warning signs that someone might be experiencing suicidal thoughts, and how to respond. That’s the real focus of that short training,” said Potter.

Ed Cutler, president of Gun Owners of Vermont, said being able to help someone ultimately boils down to trust.

“The big problem is people need somebody to talk to, more than anything — that’s what I’m learning very quickly. The vast majority of people who really do need help are afraid of it, at least in our state — because the feds and some state systems, the minute you’re declared mentally incompetent, they take your guns away,” Cutler told LifeZette.

“With us, gun owners who are contemplating suicide or anything along those lines, they’ll be able to contact us and we can either talk them down or give them a break as far as helping them goes,” he added.

There are currently two training periods scheduled this summer in Vermont. If the response is good, the program will expand throughout the state. 

Vermont joins at least 20 other states right now including Washington state, Maryland, Tennessee, Utah, and Nevada — that have either implemented a similar statewide suicide prevention program, or who have something in the works.

“One of the most important things is for suicide prevention groups to regard gun owner groups not as part of the problem, but as part of the solution when it comes to firearms suicide,” said Cathy Barber, a Harvard researcher and one of the founding members of New Hampshire’s suicide prevention program. “When the gun owner groups take this issue on, I’m often so impressed with the creativity and commitment they bring to the task,” she added.

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“We want to make it accessible and focus on talking to folks about how ‘these are your friends and family members that we’re losing.’ It’s not because gun owners are more likely to be depressed or suicidal. It’s because when a gun owner is suicidal, that person has a very lethal method right at their fingertips. When someone uses medication or other types of [processes], there can be time for intervention. But if someone is using a firearm, there really isn’t,” Potter said.

Those involved say the reason things have come together in New Hampshire, Vermont and the other states with active suicide prevention programs, is that all involved parties have been at the table from the start. The initiative isn’t one that gun owners, gun shops, or firing ranges feel has been forced upon them.

“It’s not that gun owners are more likely to be depressed or suicidal. It’s because when a gun owner is suicidal, that person has a very lethal method right at their fingertips.”

And it is critical that it works.

The national numbers show suicide rates are up overall — and that for every one woman who dies by suicide, there are three men in the same position. Why do so many more men succeed at taking their own lives than women? One theory is that more men use guns — so there is less time to intervene. Another theory, said Potter, is that the current mental health system focuses on talk therapy. That may not work as well for men as it does for women.

Men in general are not socialized to reach out for help, said Potter.

“The Vermont gun-owning community is a very safety-focused community. When someone dies by firearm here, it’s because it’s a suicide and three-quarters of [the suicides] are men. These are guys who care about each other but who may not know how to say, ‘Hey, is that divorce going OK? How are you doing?’ We haven’t been taught how to do that.”

Potter added, “We can talk to them and say, ‘Hey, would you be willing to let me hold onto your rifles for a week or two until you’re feeling better? Would you be willing to let me take the firing pin for a little while? You know me, I know how you feel, I will give it back to you. You don’t need to worry you won’t get your guns back.’ That can be a powerful way to help someone who is feeling desperate.”