Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) announced the introduction of a resolution designating September 10, 2024, as National Firearm Suicide Prevention Day to raise awareness about the growing firearm suicide crisis in the United States and promote the importance of storing firearms safely and security as an essential component of suicide prevention.
“The epidemic of gun violence continues to plague communities throughout our country and forever changes the lives of families who have lost someone to gun death. However, the debate surrounding gun safety overlooks the role that guns often play in suicide,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “In recognizing Firearm Suicide Prevention Day, we are bringing much needed awareness to this heartbreaking crisis and focusing on how to prevent firearm suicide to keep our children, families, our nation’s veterans, friends, and loved ones safe.
“Suicide is preventable and safe gun storage can save lives. Storing guns safely – locked, unloaded, and away from ammunition – can create time and distance between firearms and those in crisis, giving them time to pause and seek help.”
According to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, in 2022, a firearm was used in 54.6% of all suicides in the United States. With an average of 74 people dying by gun suicide in the United States each day, as reported by Brady, and easy gun access increasing the risk of death by suicide by 300%, we cannot address suicide without talking about guns and the importance of safe gun storage.
Veterans and youth are particularly at risk of firearm suicide, with 71% of veteran suicide deaths resulting from firearm use, and 75% of youth firearm suicides – where storage could be identified – occurring when the gun used was stored loaded and unlocked.
Additionally, 4.6 million children live in homes with access to an unlocked or unsupervised gun in the United States, and studies show that households practicing safe gun storage could prevent almost one-third of all annual gun deaths from suicide and unintentional shootings.
Original co-sponsors of the resolution include: Gabe Amo; Nannette Barragan, Ami Bera; Lisa Blunt Rochester; Salud Carbajal; Andre Carson; Troy Carter; Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick; Yvette Clarke; Emanuel Cleaver; Jasmine Crockett; Jason Crow; Danny K. Davis; Madeleine Dean; Chris Deluzio; Mark DeSaulnier; Debbie Dingell; Adriano Espaillat; Valerie Foushee; Sylvia Garcia; Dan Goldman; Josh Gottheimer; Raul Grijalva; Jahana Hayes; Eleanor Holmes Norton; Sara Jacobs; Hank Johnson; Marcy Kaptur; Bill Keating; Robin L. Kelly; Tim Kennedy; Dan Kildee; Greg Landsman; Barbara Lee; Mike Levin; Lucy McBath; Jennifer McClellan; Betty McCollum; Gwen Moore; Joe Morelle; Jared Moskowitz; Seth Moulton; Grace Napolitano; Joe Neguse; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Scott Peters; Chellie Pingree; Frederica S. Wilson; Andrea Salinas; Jan Schakowsky; Adam Schiff; Darren Soto; Melanie Stansbury; Haley Stevens; Eric Swalwell; Shri Thanedar; Bennie Thompson; Mike Thompson; Dina Titus; Rashida Tlaib; Jill Tokuda; Paul Tonko; Norma Torres; Lori Trahan; David Trone; Juan Vargas; Marc Veasey; Nydia Velazquez; Bonnie Watson Coleman; and Nikema Williams.
The resolution is endorsed by Brady and End Family Fire, national non-profit organizations focused on advocating for gun control and against gun violence.
The full text of the resolution can be found here.
###
Issues: 118th Congress, Gun Violence Prevention