Can gun storage programs stop suicides? This researcher says safeguarding a firearm "until the crisis subsides" can make all the difference.
Suicide by firearm is a uniquely fatal epidemic, with roughly 90% of attempts lethal. More than half of U.S. suicide deaths involve guns. It's prompting calls for a new approach many think might make a big difference: gun storage initiatives.
Caleb Morse, a veteran who served in Iraq, told CBS News he's "lost more friends to suicide than I did in combat." That's one of the reasons he started offering to store firearms for friends and community members in need at his gun shop, Rustic Renegade, in Lafayette, Louisiana.
From 2002 to 2021, nearly 87,000 veterans died by gun suicide — 16 times the number of service members killed in action over the same period, the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety found in a 2024 report.
Since 2018, Morse has stored roughly 400 firearms, safely keeping them until their owners were ready to reclaim them, potentially saving numerous lives. Louisiana has passed legislation shielding gun store owners who hold onto guns from liability litigation.
Morse and others like him can make a big difference in stopping suicides by firearm because chances are high that owners who don't have easy access to their guns during a moment of crisis won't die, said Rutgers professor Michael Anestis, a clinical psychologist. Over 70% of those who survive a suicide attempt don't try again, he said.
Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and one of the nation's top researchers developing gun storage frameworks and projects, spoke to CBS News about Americans vulnerable to suicide, steps people can take to help a loved one and how gun storage programs can make a difference.
CBS News: How do guns fit into the story of American suicide?
Michael Anestis: You can't really talk about American suicide without talking about firearms. More than half of all the suicide deaths in America are self-inflicted gunshot wounds. There's a pretty clear relationship between firearm access and suicide death. So whether you're the firearm owner yourself or anybody who lives in the home [where] there's a firearm present, their risk for death by suicide goes up three to five times.
And it's not that the firearm makes them vulnerable to thinking about suicide. It's just that if someone is thinking about suicide and they have quick and ready access to the most lethal method, then they're at greater risk of dying. If you take all the other suicide attempts together in the United States to combine them, less than 5% of those attempts to result in death. There's nothing that compares to firearms in terms of how deadly they are in a suicide attempt.
CBS News: When we look across the American landscape, which communities are most vulnerable?
Anestis: The communities that are historically known to be firearm owners are also the ones at greatest risk for firearm suicide. So, often that's White men, that's folks in rural spaces, that's middle-aged or older adults. That's folks with a history of military service or who've worked in law enforcement communities that are more prone to owning firearms and are more prone to firearm suicide. Those who are dying by suicide are predominantly men. Most of them probably have families, they're middle-aged men and they're the ones who maybe are supposed to be the protectors.
CBS News: Why are veterans so vulnerable?
Anestis: Veterans have a great amount of training and comfort with firearms. A very high percentage of veterans are firearm owners relative to the rest of the community. So they have more experience, more comfort and more opportunity. And then there's just a lot of aspects that go into the life of veterans separating from military service and finding a new mission in life. And when you combine all of those factors with quick, ready access to a firearm, you unfortunately get a tragedy like suicide.
CBS News: When is a firearm owner at greatest risk of suicide? Are there warning signs?
Anestis: It's a very common story for the folks who die by suicide, especially by firearm, to not have asked for help, not have sought help, not told anyone about their suicidal thoughts. So the best thing you can do is try and make the environment less conducive to a suicide attempt. That means, you know, locking away methods for suicide. That could be medication. A lot of times though, that means locking up a firearm or finding ways of storing outside of the home until the crisis subsides - sort of like you let somebody hold your keys if you've had too much to drink. and then you get 'em back and you sober up.
CBS News: Why firearm storage – why not protective orders, red flag laws?
Anestis: There's not one solution that's gonna solve this for everyone or anyone. But what I like about secure storage is that it keeps the decision-making process in the hands of the firearm owner. Firearms are just such a politically divisive issue that people instantly feel like they're being judged or they're having their rights threatened, or someone's telling them what to do. But somewhere along this continuum of safety for which people can plan, we can make plans for adapting all sorts of ways. We can keep ourselves and our loved ones and our property safe. There are tons of options for firearm storage - gun safes, gun lock boxes, Pelican cases - and each of these different kinds of devices have different kinds of locking mechanisms. It could be a key, a code, like you have a locker.
CBS News: What does an America that regularly uses firearm storage look like?
Anestis: It's an America with far fewer suicide deaths and making it less deadly or less available across the globe and methods. It's a story that results in massive and sustained reductions in the overall suicide rate.
Editor's note: This transcript has been lightly edited and condensed.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.
For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.