Self-Defense Against Suicide
Because it's Suicide Prevention Awareness month
Dear Solutionists,
Because this month is Suicide Prevention Awareness month, I spoke with Katrina Brees who lost her mother to suicide in 2018 and now works tirelessly to save others:
On June 26, 2018, Donna Nathan typed the words “gun stores New Orleans” into her phone and followed the GPS on her screen to the nearest firearms shop. Minutes after arriving, though she had never owned a gun and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she had herself a .38 Smith & Wesson and a box of bullets — pink ones, to promote breast cancer awareness.
Then she drove to the Tree of Life in Audubon Park, and shot herself.
“I was shocked to find out that her buying a gun was so easy and completely legal,” says Katrina Brees, Nathan’s daughter. “It was just one button away on her phone.”
Firearms are the most common means of suicide in the US, accounting for 53 percent of all suicides in 2020. Her mother’s death was the fourth gun suicide in Brees’ family history, and a tipping point. “The next morning, I went straight into action.” Now Brees is advocating for a simple solution: A way for people like her mother to voluntarily add themselves to a Do-Not-Sell List that prevents them from quickly buying a gun. “There are almost no barriers to buying a gun in Louisiana,” Brees says. “Every year we have more than 600 suicides here, and two thirds are by firearms.”
State by state, Brees’ solution is becoming a reality. Versions of the Voluntary Do-Not-Sell List — or Donna’s Law — have since been passed in Washington State, Virginia, and Utah. The law grants people the option to voluntarily and confidentially add their names to their state’s background check system to prevent them from impulsively purchasing a gun. Anybody can sign up, no questions asked. If they want to buy a gun, they can file a request to have their name removed after a 21-day waiting period. “It actually gives people more gun rights,” Brees says.
At least nine more states are currently considering similar laws, including Pennsylvania, Tennessee, New York and Wisconsin. In July, Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D) and Utah Congressman John Curtis (R) introduced a bill to take the law national. “The odds of successfully committing suicide are 140 times greater when there is a gun,” Jayapal said in a statement. “Our bill ensures that people who are liable to hurt themselves cannot access a firearm.”
Read more about Katrina Brees and her initiative in Reasons to be Cheerful:
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/donnas-law-do-not-sell-list-gun-suicide/
Brees was not able to prevent her mom from buying a gun. But she can work toward making sure others will have this option, potentially saving their lives.
At Donna Nathan’s memorial (Photo courtesy of Katrina Brees)
If you or someone you know needs help, and you are in the US, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
What I’m reading:
Best story about brain fog I’ve read:
One of Long COVID’s Worst Symptoms Is Also Its Most Misunderstood
Brain fog isn’t like a hangover or depression. It’s a disorder of executive function that makes basic cognitive tasks absurdly hard.
And lastly, remember my profile of Kristine Tompkins who gave away her fortune to build national parks in Chile and Argentina? Her former boss, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, just gave away $3B to mitigate climate change.
With kindness,
Michaela
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