While participating in a Zoom conference with other members of the New Hampshire Firearms Safety Coalition, of which I’ve been a proud member for a quarter century or so, I was reminded that I have not addressed here a topic NHFSC has strongly and successfully focused upon: suicide prevention.
The organization was founded by the late, great Elaine Frank, seen in our lead photo, when she led the Injury Prevention Center in Hanover, NH. This, thanks to Elaine, is the only organization I’ve ever seen which successfully brought together the warring factions of a major sociological debate to work for a positive common cause. NHFSC has included pro-gun and anti-gun activists along with neutral experts in the fields of public safety, injury prevention, and suicide prevention. I offer here an article on suicide prevention that I wrote several years ago for Backwoods Home magazine.
NHFSC’s approach has been widely copied in other states. It has saved lives. You can find more info on NHFSC on their website.
There IS a very effective solution for suicide prevention that EXISTS today. It’s legal, accessible and relatively affordable. It is ketamine therapy. It is likely 60% or so effective in treating suicidal ideation.
I have discussed this solution with Mas and a couple of other prominent members of the gun community. However, I have failed to inspire serious interest. My conclusion is that the gun-owning community is simply not interested in a discussion of suicide. As long as that situation persists we will make no progress on any front. Not on the one I see is most prominent, nor on any other front.
I use this drug personally. For 30+ months. It is fantastic for depression, suicidal ideation, bipolar, anxiety, PTSD/CPTSD and some other indications. If anyone is interested they can write me at IbizaMalta@KetamineTherapyForMentalHealth.com.
One of the major problems that arises when people seek help for severe depression/suicidal ideation is that those in need of help and compassion are instead treated like a criminal. This can include being killed by police, involuntary incarceration, and the loss of their firearms. This leads many who desperately need care, including many veterans, to avoid seeking help. Couple this with a severe shortage of non-institution mental health providers has created a crisis in this country. The Biden administration is pushing states to create and expand their “red flag” laws, thereby exacerbating the problem. Someone who is depressed does not want to risk losing the one activity they may enjoy by seeking assistance and Leftists see it as one more opportunity to remove guns from society. Suicide is often termed a permanent solution to a temporary problem, so seeking help should not result in permanent penalties or stigmas.
Yes, you are right. So treat the mental illness problem – usually major depression disorder MDD – before the suicidal ideation gets to the crisis point.
But we, the gun owning community, won’t look to do anything to help our own community; and the rest of the community (non gun owners) suffering from mental illness and suicidal ideation. We don’t really care about solving this problem. We are not looking for the solutions there for the taking.
2A opponents can be as depressing as anything. Nothing can be as happy as a well-defended life, why interfere with it? Furthermore, corrupt leadership leads to generally less happy conditions. Corrupt leaders such as we have had in office lately should practice a most successful offensive tactic used in basketball: just get out of the way!
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