How gun shops could help curb suicides in Wisconsin under bipartisan bill
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Gun shop employees would receive suicide prevention training and be allowed to temporarily store customers' firearms under a bipartisan bill at the state Capitol.
The bill received a public hearing Tuesday and received board support from gun control advocates and members of the Assembly Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention.
Marsha Baldwridge, a member of Wisconsin Moms Demand Action, testified to lawmakers about the heartache of losing her 33-year-old son, Sydney, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2008. She urged lawmakers to act after she said her son, who suffered from bipolar disorder, bought a gun "easily."
"Please let my son's death make a difference today," Baldwridge said. "I do not want another mom or dad to suffer the same unimaginable pain of losing their child to suicide by gun."
Baldwridge said the proposal that would train employees at gun shops and firearm ranges to recognize if someone may be considering suicide could have saved her son's life and will prevent future deaths.
"He had a gun, he lost it and he just so easily went to pick up another one," she said. "That's how I think this bill could have helped if someone had been trained to recognize bipolar tendencies," she said.
Under the proposal, introduced by Sen. Jessie James (R-Altoona) and Rep. Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers), local governments could apply for suicide prevention training grants and partner with gun shops and ranges.
Sen. James said he hopes his bill will result in more people speaking up if they are concerned about someone's wellbeing.
"We have to be comfortable in asking that question, because this is a reality of life or death," James said. "I think it's very appropriate for us as human beings to hold each other accountable."
In Wisconsin, suicide rates have been on the rise in recent years and guns are the leading cause, according to the Department of Health Services.
The proposal would also allow places that sell guns to voluntarily store customers' firearms who may be a threat to themselves or others.
"The storage aspect I support, but the training is even more important to make sure these people can follow up and say, 'are you sure you're ready to have these [firearms] back?'" Sortwell said. "If the gun shop owner or whatever doesn't feel that person is there yet…they can contact their local law enforcement."
A similar bill was introduced before and passed the Assembly, but it never received a vote in the Senate. The price tag of the bill could be the reason why.
Sen. James said he's asking the GOP-led Joint Finance Committee to include $150,000 in the 2023-2025 state budget to pay for these suicide prevention grants. That's in addition to state health officials' request for $87,550, a yearly salary DHS estimated the bill would cost to hire someone to oversee the program, review applications and administer the grants.
The committee will ultimately decide how much mental health and suicide prevention funding will be included in the 2023-2025 biennium budget before the GOP-controlled Legislature votes on the proposal sometime this summer.
Gov. Tony Evers declared 2023 the "Year of Mental Health" and proposed suicide prevention efforts in his state budget, but Republicans on JFC recently removed hundreds of provisions.
Evers and Democrats have pushed for more strict gun laws, including so-called red flag laws and universal background checks, but Republicans have refused to hold public hearings on those bills.