Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Reducing stigma tied to mental health issues, removing barriers to treatment and seeking passage of a so-called “red flag” law to allow for removing firearms from people at risk of suicide will be among themes guiding a statewide suicide prevention strategy.
Putting together such a strategy was the heart of a preliminary report issued Tuesday by a task force that studied suicide prevention and held a series of 10 listening sessions around the state late last year.
“Someone you know is struggling, but they don’t have to struggle alone,” Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller said at a Capitol press conference to unveil the report. “Compassion can make all the difference for someone in need."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 2,030 suicide deaths in Pennsylvania in 2017, and its rate of suicide deaths ranked 15th in the nation.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced the formation of the task force in May. It is expected to release a four-year statewide suicide prevention plan within the next few months, and the themes included in the preliminary report will guide the plan.
The 800-plus people who attended the listening sessions included people affected by suicide and mental health professionals.
State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, a Lehigh County Democrat who has spoken publicly about his own thoughts ― years ago ― concerning suicide, said he attended six of them.
At the press conference, Schlossberg said "it becomes very difficult when you hear those personal stories.”
Mental health challenges faced by members of the military and farmers were highlighted Tuesday.
The nature of running a family farm, said state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, creates a potential for mental health challenges. A farmer who fails, Redding said, can lose his or her job, home and family legacy.
During the listening sessions around the state, Redding said, “Farmers were among the populations called out as at risk of suicide.”
State Adjutant General Anthony Carrelli said veteran suicides continue to be a serious concern, and reducing stigma tied to mental health challenges should be a primary goal.
A lot of people in Pennsylvania, he said, are not comfortable with the topic and “have got to get past that.”
Among the themes identified by the task force to help guide its upcoming suicide prevention strategy:
The task force also specifically referred to the potentially helpful role of passing a so-called “red flag” law.
A state House bill that would allow for temporary confiscation of firearms from people deemed to show “red flag” symptoms of being in crisis stalled in the Judiciary Committee last fall.
Proponents have said it would help curtail suicides. The bill would establish Extreme Risk Protection Orders as a way for family members to ask a judge to hold a hearing to determine whether a person is in crisis and should be temporarily disarmed.
Several months ago, it was viewed by some lawmakers as perhaps the most passable piece of gun violence-related legislation, and it had Wolf’s support. But the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Republican Rep. Rob Kauffman, has said the measure is simply an attempt to take guns away.
Schlossberg he would vote in favor of the bill “in a heartbeat.”
But, he said, most issues identified by the task force have bipartisan support. Schlossberg said he did not want to focus on what he described as a tiny fraction that might be controversial.
Morning Call reporter Ford Turner can be reached at 717-783-7305 or fturner@mcall.com