States consider laws to combat suicides by gun

As lawmakers and mental health advocates wrestle with how to stop suicides by firearm, some are looking to a novel idea at work in a handful of states: Register yourself as a suicide risk so you can’t buy a gun on a whim (Source: “To Prevent Gun Suicide, States Consider Allowing People to Deny Themselves a Gun,” Pew Stateline, March 16).

Mass shootings often get more attention, but suicide deaths by firearm represents a majority of firearm deaths in most states. In the United States, suicides make up 57% of all gun deaths, or about 117,000 out of 206,000 firearm deaths in the past five years, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention preliminary data. 

Since 2018, Utah, Virginia and Washington state have passed laws creating registries for those who think they could become suicidal and don’t want the ability to buy a gun on a whim. Maryland lawmakers are considering such legislation this spring.

U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, and John Curtis, a Utah Republican, sponsored federal legislation last year, but it did not advance beyond the House Judiciary Committee. Jayapal plans to reintroduce the bill during this congressional session