Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
To reach a suicide prevention hotline, call the new 988 three-digit hotline or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Suicide prevention services can also be reached at 888-568-1112 or 800-273-TALK (8255).
Here in Maine, September is Suicide Awareness Month and also Safe Homes Awareness Month. This is when we reflect particularly on how each of us can help reduce accidental and unintentional gun deaths and suicide.
In 2021, there were 178 suicides in Maine, of which 89 percent were gun suicides. There were also several shootings of and by young Maine children who had access to loaded firearms. The 130th Maine Legislature responded by making it a crime to leave loaded weapons accessible to children.
In response, the Maine Gun Safety Coalition Foundation (MGSCF) has established a program to give away cable gunlocks, for free, to any Mainer who wants to ensure their firearms are stored safely. MGSCF is also collaborating with the Maine chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and gives free gun locks to pediatricians to pass along to parents and guardians, and has created a user-friendly safe gun storage video at www.mainegunsafety.org/pediatricians-program.
Everytown for Gun Safety and its Maine chapter, Moms Demand Action, has also created a Be SMART campaign, advocating that each of us take these five gun safety steps: Secure all guns in our homes and vehicles; model responsible behavior around guns; ask about unsecured guns in other homes that our children visit, including relatives; recognize the role of guns in suicide – as easy access is all too often lethal on a “bad day;” and, finally, tell others and join physicians, educators, law enforcement, and others in spreading the safe storage message (see BeSmartForKids.org).
Peggy McGehee
Board member
Maine Gun Safety Coalition
Falmouth
