Brady Statement on Latest Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims

Washington, D.C., April 30, 2020 - Today, following the release of the latest unemployment insurance weekly claims data, Brady urges attention to the link between firearms and suicide fatality.

The latest data from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration shows that 3,839,000 Americans filed for unemployment insurance for the week ending on April 25.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“Today’s numbers should serve as a call for attention to mental health during this pandemic. With tens of millions of Americans out of work, economic uncertainty will conceivably increase concerns around mental health, anxiety and depression. During this time, we must be mindful of ourselves and others for this stress, particularly for signs of suicidal intention.

For individuals with guns, the risk of death by suicide is acute. Access to a gun in the home increases the risk of death by suicide by 300 percent. There were 24,432 deaths by suicide using a firearm in 2018. Suicide by firearm constitutes not only the majority of deaths by suicide, but as well the majority of gun deaths in the United States.

Ensuring that a gun is properly stored, meaning locked in a safe, unloaded, and with ammunition stored separately, can help to mitigate that risk. For an individual in crisis, safely storing a firearm creates a barrier and buys critical time for them to seek help. It’s part of why The risk of death by suicide is three times greater among individuals living in households with loaded firearms than among those in homes with unloaded guns.

For those in crisis, help is available no matter what you are going through today. Please call the free and confidential National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741."