200: A Survivor on the Tremendous Responsibility of Gun Ownership

TaLeah Christine Harris was only 15 when she died. A vibrant young woman, she enjoyed art and fashion, but suffered from anxiety and depression. On April 30th, 1998, she gained access to an unsecured firearm — her father, law enforcement officer, Dennis Harris' duty weapon —and died of suicide.

Since then Dennis and the whole Harris family have fought for suicide prevention and for responsible firearm storage. Now retired after 41 years in law enforcement, Dennis runs T-Lock, a company that produces smart gun locks with motion sensor alarms. In part two of this episode, Dennis joins hosts Kelly and JJ to share how his family created their company T-Lock, why he feels every gun should be sold with a lock, and how safe storage needs to be normalized.

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Mentioned in this podcast:
Retired lieutenant creates advanced gun lock after his daughter died by suicide (Fox)
Firearm Access is a Risk Factor for Suicide (Harvard School of Public Health)
How easy access to guns at home contributes to America’s youth suicide problem (the Conversation)
Locking up guns could reduce teen and childhood firearm deaths by a third (CNN)