Gun ownership is very high in my state and feelings run hot. If our suicide prevention group started talking about firearms and suicide, won we be in for a lot of controversy?
It depends in part on how the issue is framed. Approaches focused on protecting people who are in the midst of a suicidal crisis are far less likely to be considered controversial, particularly if there is no “anti-gun” bias in your approach. For example, the suicide prevention coalition in New Hampshire sponsors CALM (“Counseling on Access to Lethal Means”) trainings for providers. The program has not drawn much controversy. They presented the program to the state Firearms Safety Coalition, which included representatives from gun manufacturers and Gun Owners of New Hampshire; all gave the program the thumbs-up with minor revisions to make the language and assumptions sensitive to gun owners’ perspectives. They worked with safety-oriented gun owners to help ensure that materials were not “anti-gun.
It depends in part on how the issue is framed. Approaches focused on protecting people who are in the midst of a suicidal crisis are far less likely to be considered controversial, particularly if there is no “anti-gun” bias in your approach. For example, the suicide prevention coalition in New Hampshire sponsors CALM (“Counseling on Access to Lethal Means”) trainings for providers. The program has not drawn much controversy. They presented the program to the state Firearms Safety Coalition, which included representatives from gun manufacturers and Gun Owners of New Hampshire; all gave the program the thumbs-up with minor revisions to make the language and assumptions sensitive to gun owners’ perspectives.
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