THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCED A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY TO PREVENT SUICIDE, WITH A FOCUS ON PROMOTING SAFE FIREARM STORAGE, ADDRESSING VETERAN SUICIDE, AND ISSUING BEST PRACTICES FOR FIREARMS DEALERS.
Washington, D.C., November 2, 2021 - Following the White House’s announced actions to combat gun suicide by promoting safe firearm storage and working with gun dealers, Brady applauds the Biden-Harris administration’s prudent and much-needed focus on addressing family fire. Death by gun suicide accounts for the majority of gun deaths every year, approximately 60 percent. Nearly 23,000 people die from gun suicide each year, an estimated 63 people every day, part of why Brady has launched its End Family Fire campaign to address unintentional shootings in the home and gun suicide. President Biden’s announced actions today include a comprehensive strategy to address gun suicide in veterans, a population disproportionately affected by gun suicide. Veterans make up roughly 7 percent of U.S. adults, but they account for 18 percent of the nation’s gun suicide deaths. Recognizing this reality, Brady launched "Service Never Stops," a series of public service announcements produced by and featuring veterans in September 2021.Brady President Kris Brown shared:“Today’s announcement demonstrates once again that the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to tackling gun violence as a complex, multifaceted public health crisis. This focus on family fire, a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun in the home that results in death or injury, will help to address the largest portion of gun deaths each year, gun suicide. This crisis is particularly acute in the veteran community, clearly why President Biden and the Biden-Harris administration have released a comprehensive strategy to address gun suicide in the Veteran community. These actions will save lives. That the administration has identified the need to emphasize safe storage and opted to work with gun dealers, the cornerstone and front lines of preventing gun violence and especially gun trafficking, shows that they understand the scope of gun violence in America and are willing to take necessary, evidence-based steps to end it.Brady thanks President Biden and the Biden-Harris administration for these needed actions and their continued focus on ending gun violence in all of its forms.”
End Family Fire, a joint effort from Brady and the Ad Council, aims to encourage safe gun storage by putting a name to the preventable tragedies that occur when guns in the home are misused. “Family fire,” a term developed for this lifesaving effort, refers to a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun found in the home that results in death or injury. Incidents of family fire include suicides, unintentional shootings, and other gun-related tragedies.The End Family Fire program aims to bring awareness to the issue of family fire, give gun owners a role in gun violence prevention, and encourage a national dialogue around safe storage practices — all of which can help prevent tragedies of family fire.
The Biden-Harris administration has announced three actions aimed at preventing gun suicide. These actions included needed emphasis on the safe storage of firearms and outreach to firearms dealers nationwide to help promote best practices regarding sales and dissemination of safe storage information. These actions target several of the drivers of gun violence, particularly emphasizing the role in which gun dealers play in preventing sales to individuals clearly in distress or to individuals who may be purchasing firearms to traffick or resale illegally. These three actions include:
A comprehensive military and veteran suicide prevention strategy. This effort is an unprecedented federal focus on improving lethal means safety as a tool to save lives.
Finalize a proposed rule from 2016, instructing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to clarify firearms dealers’ statutory obligations to make available for purchase compatible secure gun storage or safety devices.
Providing a best practices guide to all federal firearms dealers, including a reminder of actions they are legally required to take as well as additional actions dealers can and are recommended to take to keep their customers and communities safe.
Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.
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