Gun stores in Wisconsin are now helping residents prevent suicide. They are participating in the suicide prevention education effort called "Gun Shop Project."
Gun Stores in Wisconsin Now Helping Prevent Suicide
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, almost 40 gun stores in Wisconsin are participating in the Gun Shop Project.
A part of this effort is to temporarily take guns from owners who are at risk of suicide. This act is called the "Safe Storage Initiative."
Aside from this, gun store owners are also training their employees who are selling firearms to residents.
Staff at the counter are required to be extra alert so that they can see if there are signs of possible intentions from buyers.
Once they are sure that the individual buying the gun will use it for suicide, they are allowed to deny the transaction.
One of the firearm shop owners who are doing this is Chuck Lovelace. The Wisconsin resident also had a close friend who committed suicide.
"It was devastating to me, it really was, because she was a beautiful person," said Lovelace.
His friend was a nurse and a mother with three children. Since he knows how suicides affect other individuals, the gun store owner was approached about spearheading a gun suicide prevention effort seven years ago.
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Gun-Related Suicides in Wisconsin
CBS 58 reported that the suicide rates in Wisconsin drastically increased over the past years.
The Department of Health Services confirmed that guns are the leading cause of these rising suicide cases.
Because of this, gun store owners have been grappling with the issue of suicide by their customers.
There are some cases when buyers committed suicide on gun store firing ranges. Other people decided to take their own lives after leaving the firearm stores.
Officials have been making efforts to prevent suicide in Wisconsin. In 2022, data showed that gun-related suicides in Wisconsin reached more than 500.
This is higher compared to the suicide record in 2021, which is around 490 cases. As of writing, many individuals are concerned about the impact of guns on suicides.
Meanwhile, others said that gun-related suicides could lead to more firearm restrictions.
But, Lovelace explained that limiting firearm-related suicides is not anti-gun at all, but it is pro-people.
