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Supporting Our Veterans

Preventing Firearm Suicides

We know suicide is preventable. There is a common misconception that if someone wants to die by suicide, they will. Research shows this is not true and in fact, suicide is preventable. Once suicidal ideation passes, most people — over 90% — continue with their lives.
Talking About Suicide
Temporarily Removing Firearms
Preventing Youth Suicide

Talking About Suicide and Firearms

Firearms represent the leading cause of suicide death in Oregon, with more than half of all suicides by firearm.

Research shows one of the most important things we can do if we are worried about someone dying by suicide is talk to them about it. Research shows directly asking people whether they are considering suicide decreases their risk. Lines for Life, a suicide prevention organization in Oregon, provides resources to help guide these conversations.

Resources

Text or call Lines for Life at 988 if you or someone you know needs immediate help.

Conversations with Doctors, Nurses
Can Help

Research also shows that most people who die by firearm suicide saw a doctor within 90 days before they died. One education campaign the Alliance for a Safe Oregon is working on with doctors is to improve screening for suicide and to help people at risk to develop safety plans for themselves and their families, including creating a plan to have a loved one or friend temporarily store their firearm.
My husband Olof was a respected physician, a loving husband, and an amazing dad to our three daughters. He’d struggled with depression in college, but had been symptom-free for years, when one April day, seemingly out of the blue, he drove to our local mall, bought a gun, and shot himself in our backyard. He died within two hours of purchasing the gun.


While 70% of people who survive a suicide attempt will never try again, guns are so lethal that they don’t allow for a second chance. Sensible gun laws like a waiting period between buying and accessing a gun could have made all of the difference between life and death for my husband.
– McKay Sohlberg, Eugene

Temporarily Removing Firearms

Sometimes, supporting someone in crisis means temporarily making sure their is space between the person and their firearms. Sometimes, this can happen informally, if a family member has a place to securely store firearms in a locked safe the person does not have access to.

In Oregon, we also have a law that allows a family member or a law enforcement officer to petition the court to have guns removed from individuals who are believed to be a danger to themselves (or others). This process also keeps these individuals from purchasing new guns and it stays in effect for a year.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) also protect the rights of gun owners by providing due process. ERPO respondents can request a hearing before the court makes a decision.

ERPOs happen in civil court, which means they do not have a long term effect on a person’s record.

To find information about how to file for an ERPO or to find additional support on other types of protective orders, visit this website.

Preventing Youth Suicide

More than 80 percent of youth suicides used a firearm that belonged to a family member — most often a parent. And, over two thirds of the time, the firearm was unlocked and unsecured.  Suicide attempts by guns are the most lethal because there is rarely a second chance. While suicide attempts are the same across firearm owning and non-firearm owning households, suicide death rates are 4x higher in houses with guns because of their lethality.

This is why it’s so important to securely store firearms.

Securing Guns Safely Saves Lives

By storing guns securely - unloaded and locked up - we can save lives and join together to protect our kids and other youth in our community.

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Today, biometric safes make it possible to store firearms where they can be quickly accessed, but prevent any unauthorized access.

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Learn how to talk to family and friends about secure storage.

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