Gun Control & RKBA
Related: About this forumcan we all agree this is a good thing?
http://www.theconnectprogram.org/firearms-safety-coalitions-role-nh-suicide-preventionhttp://www.theconnectprogram.org/sites/default/files/site-content/docs/Tipsfordealers_0.pdf
Weve stopped by virtually all of the independent gun shops in the state (67 by our count) to see whether they were displaying materials we had sent them and to hear their advice.
Heres what we learned:
About half (48%) of all gunshops in NH are displaying our suicide prevention materialseither the safety brochures, poster, hotline cards, or all three. Thats a huge response!
Lots of the shop owners had advice. Based on their suggestions, we changed the photo on the poster. Both the original and the new one are available below.
Some gun shops got more involved. A couple of shop owners joined the Coalition; someone made a video based on the safety brochure; someone placed an editorial about the project in their newsletter; and long-time Coalition member, Massad Ayoob, wrote an article called Avoiding Disasters that was published in Combat Handguns.
And, we heard stories like these:
A woman came into the shop asking about buying a gun because of some emotional problems. I told her she didnt need a gun, she needed spiritual help. So I took her to my pastor. She never did come back for a gun.
There was a guy I wouldnt sell a gun to because he just didnt seem right. I later got a letter from his attorney thanking me for saving his clients life.
How do we get it to catch on in Wyoming and Oregon, which also have high suicide rates?
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,482 posts)Perhaps one with presidential leadership would be best.
Pullo
(594 posts)I like the idea
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,482 posts)sylvi
(813 posts)without running the Constitution through the shredder. I love it.
ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)rdharma
(6,057 posts)gejohnston
(17,502 posts)which amounts to Taoism without the label, I have no idea. I doubt a genderless force beyond our comprehension would use the phone, favor a football team. If it were my gun shop, I would suggest a secular counselor.
To answer your question, have to ask someone who knows the Cloud God better than I do.
rdharma
(6,057 posts).... I would be more likely to recommend serious mental health professionals rather than religious nutjobs!
sarisataka
(18,770 posts)6. If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
also applies to everdyay situations
rdharma
(6,057 posts)And if someone is considering suicide or homicide, that's NOT the time to recommend "something stupid"!
sarisataka
(18,770 posts)one would expect a positive result if the depressed person is very religious. If they are atheist, not so much.
When I had a suicidal roommate who was not religious, we went to a psychologist. Fifteen years later he has a happy successful life.
rdharma
(6,057 posts)... so your "Murphey's Laws of Combat"..... don't apply here.
sarisataka
(18,770 posts)I wasn't an officer
Robb
(39,665 posts)Good one.
gejohnston
(17,502 posts)not all ministers and imams etc are "nutjobs"
However, if he or she were in the military, I would first send them to the minister because mental health professional can tell your boss and commander.
sylvi
(813 posts)instead of concentrating on a single anecdote in the OP, you'd see that the materials and guidelines in this program are secular, some provided by the U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services, Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration.
Then again, facts have never been an impediment to your finding a way to completely embarrass yourself, have they?
jeepnstein
(2,631 posts)As an Elder in my small congregation I have to deal with people in spiritual crisis from time to time. The key to doing it right is knowing full well when you are getting in over your head. And the default answer there is any time mental health pops up, you're out of your depth. Some people lack the humility to make that decision. More than one time I've told someone that while I was always going to be there for their spiritual needs they really needed to deal with whatever medical or psychological problem that was plaguing them. You might be amazed at the number of people who have no idea of how to get the ball rolling on seeking help for a psychological crisis. Many times they don't even recognize their condition as anything that is not normal. It's carries such a needless stigma in our society that quite often the person needs loving reassurance that it's OK to seek help.
As a cop, I've been to suicide calls. Most of the time it's just a desperate cry for attention from someone who is badly broken. Then there are the few who are dedicated and have their plan in place. It's a horrific thing to be dealing with someone whose worst enemy is their own head. Again, what is necessary and appropriate is getting them the clinical attention they need ASAP.
Should gun shops have material on hand to help steer the occasional customer who is heading for crisis to proper mental health care? Absolutely. So should liquor stores and pharmacies for that matter.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)DonP
(6,185 posts)That a bunch of gun stores are actually doing more to prevent suicide/violence than the MAIG, Brady group or pretty much any other "activist" group out there that claims to want to "stop the violence" or stands for "Gun Safety" but never teaches a single person or does anything in the real world about it. As if angry web postings and unpublished LTTEs are actually doing something.
Just like all those "Gun Safety" advocates, I guess it's a lot easier to pontificate online and in the media about how evil gun sellers and owners are, than it is to actually ever do anything about it.
Now we wait for the inevitable ... "Well how many have died because of the 'death spewing' guns they sell?"
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)This kind of thing will become wide-spread in the near future, and include other safety recommendations.
A constructive criticism for gun-owners: For too long the positive messages and images of gun-owners have remained limited to those in the sports, or to those who seek out information about gun use. No more. There WILL be a positive national message from now on, and there will be more than one or two pro-2A organizations who will be backing that message. We'll get to see what MSM "openness" is made of when they are presented with a new, positive narrative.
And we'll get to see what the extremist controller/banners are made of.