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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).
The recent suicide inside Maine Military Supply in Holden is tragic on so many levels. In my view, it reflects a disturbing culture where some politicians would apparently rather protect guns than lives.
We may never know the circumstances or reasons for this woman’s choice to take her life in a store that says it is “open to the public specializing in military surplus items, tactical gear, guns, ammunition…”, but we do know that suicide by combat veterans is on the rise and that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder impacts veterans at a rate higher than in the non-veteran population.
We also know there are strategies around gun safety that reduce suicide. Seventy-two hour waiting periods between purchase and possession of a firearm provides a window for crisis intervention. The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and the majority of politicians in Augusta opposed such a measure during the most recent legislative session. I wonder what it will take for them to reconsider their position.
Holden residents are now left with the haunting trauma of gun violence. I feel it’s up to us to honor the departed by doing everything we can to help stop another senseless loss of life to gun violence.
I am the volunteer chapter leader for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I’ve been involved in the gun safety movement for more than 10 years, and bear witness to the lifelong trauma that accompanies gun violence.
Kathleen McFadden
Prospect Harbor
