John,
Nine months ago, we lost my cousin, Dee, to firearm suicide; I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and the impact it has had on our family.
My name is Russell Bennett, Brady’s finance associate, and I want to share this story with you so we have the opportunity to talk about a public health crisis in our country that has, for too long, gone unspoken.
Unbeknownst to most of us in the family, Dee had been struggling with mental health issues for months, and when our uncle died, viewing our uncle in his casket, Dee remarked, “he looks so peaceful.” Dee would go on to take his own life that night. Dee wanted to be at peace.
Dee’s death shattered my family. In the months since this tragedy, I wish I could say that we are doing okay, but it’s hard to recover from something like this, something that feels so senseless, that you keep wondering if you could have done more to prevent it.
Reading my story, I know there will be others who share a similar pain. We lose 74 people to firearm suicide every day, which accounts for more than half of all gun deaths. In an ideal world, every suicide would be prevented, but we don't live in an ideal world. What I do know is that there are steps we can take to decrease the risk of firearm suicide and prevent future tragedies.
Securely storing firearms — meaning locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition — has been proven to prevent some instances of firearm suicide, especially amongst youth. Even a 20% increase in the number of American households practicing safe storage could prevent almost one-third of annual youth gun deaths from suicide and unintentional shootings.
Even for adults, secure firearm storage can be the pause that allows people to reassess their actions and reach out for help. Any little barrier that can slow someone down to rethink, or delay just long enough for someone else to notice what is happening, can be life saving.
My cousin Dee was so deeply loved by his family and friends. If I had one wish, it would be to make sure that Dee knew that. Going forward, I think it’s important that we keep reminding those close to us of that exact same thing — that they are loved more than they will ever know. And one way to show our love and care for each other and ourselves is to take steps to securely store any and all firearms.
In honor of Suicide Prevention Month, I invite everyone to take a moment to see our resources at End Family Fire to learn how you can have conversations with your families and loved ones about how to take the first step towards preventing firearm suicide.
