This week, an important study on Utah suicide prevention and guns was released by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health confirming that firearms are the method used in the majority of Utah’s suicides, and firearms are the most lethal method of self-harm.
Indeed, firearms in Utah have a fatality rate of 87 percent. These findings indicate that the method matters tremendously. Additional research has shown 93 percent of survivors — even of serious suicide attempts — will not go on to die by suicide. This study offers a new look at one Utah’s most urgent public health challenges, providing an opportunity for policymakers to craft suicide prevention solutions that prioritize lethal means reduction. Extreme risk protective orders, known as ERPOs, are one evidence-based policy solution known to prevent suicides and other firearm deaths by saving a life during times of extreme risk.
State Rep Steve Handy joins Rod at 6:05 tonight to discuss his op-ed
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