Need Help?
Call the Lifeline.
Text or Call 988
Download Utah Firearm Suicide Prevention handout:
What can I do now?
| LOCK: Store guns safely and securely when not in use. Change your gun locks if necessary, and make sure the keys and combination aren’t accessible. |
| LIMIT: Lock guns and ammo separately, or don’t keep ammunition in the home at all. Ask to temporarily keep the keys to any gun of a friend who is struggling. |
| REMOVE: Temporarily store firearms off site until the situation improves, perhaps at a friend or relative’s house. Gun shops and law enforcement may offer storage options. |
What if it is you at risk?
Any strategy that builds some time between you and a gun in a suicidal crisis will keep you safer. Temporarily store your guns off site, disassemble them, or lock up at least one component. Ask a friend to hold your keys, or store the keys somewhere they’re not available in a crisis like a bank safe deposit box.
Utah Data
Utah Department of Health
To find more Utah specific statistics, click below.
A suicidal crisis is often brief
People who are admitted to a hospital after an attempt were asked how long they’d been thinking about suicide before the attempt…
48% said 10 minutes or less.
Most people who become suicidal have struggled with ongoing, underlying problems. But the movement from suicidal idea to action is sometimes rapid.
Firearms are a valued part of the fabric of many homes in Utah. This report was assembled to provide legislators, firearm owners, suicide prevention and mental health advocates, health clinicians, and others with practical data on characteristics of incidents in which firearm use leads to death, particularly suicide. The purpose is to help stakeholders craft prevention strategies that are responsive to the local problem and that build on the strengths and values of the communities and individuals most affected by firearm suicides: gun owners and their families.
Download Suicide and Firearm Injury in Utah: Linking Data to Save Lives- Executive Summary