Alan Gottlieb
By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
In a major political coup for Second Amendment advocates in the Pacific Northwest, the Washington Legislature has passed a suicide prevention bill that was championed by gun rights advocate Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, and supported by local and national gun rights groups.
The bill, known as the Suicide Awareness and Prevention Education for Safer Homes Act, was also supported by Brian Judy, state liaison for the National Rifle Association. The bill will establish two working subcommittees including one that requires representation by SAF and/or the NRA, plus two members from the firearms industry.
Gottlieb worked quietly on the legislation for more than nine months, with Dr. Jennifer Stuber at the University Of Washington School Of Social Work, whose husband committed suicide with a firearm in 2011. Democrat State Rep. Tina Orwall sponsored the legislation and rounded up bipartisan support.
What was surprising to many people was that no gun control group was involved in the process.
When the legislation was up for public hearings, Gottlieb and Judy both testified in support, along with Ray Carter, representing the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and Phil Shave, executive director of the Washington Arms Collectors.
Also testifying in support were Rebecca Johnson with the Alliance for Gun Responsibility (AGR), and Kathy Young and Margaret Heldring from Grandmothers Against Gun Violence.
AGR is now sponsoring another initiative, this one about so-called “emergency protection orders.” A bill pushing that concept, and supported by the group, died in committee.
Gottlieb told TGM that the suicide prevention effort “has never been about guns.”
“It’s about preventing suicide,” he explained. “And who better to address the firearms safety aspect than the firearms community?”
Over the course of several months, Gottlieb, Stuber and others talked through the issues. Judy worked with Rep. Orwall’s office.
“House Bill 2793 is about awareness, prevention and education, not gun control,” Judy observed. “Just like suicide by intentional prescription overdose is not referred to as ‘drug abuse’ and legal, assisted suicide is not categorized as a ‘medical misadventure’, suicide with a firearm is not ‘gun violence’.
“Regardless of the means,” he added, “suicide is a mental health issue, with the same result. It was refreshing to engage on this issue with people who were truly interested in a collaborative solution to raise awareness about the mental health tragedy that is suicide, as opposed to those who want to use suicide to push a gun control agenda.”
In a telephone interview, Stuber called the bill’s passage “an awesome opportunity.”
“We haven’t done enough to educate people about the warning signs of suicide,” she said.
Stuber acknowledged her surprise when the first meetings were held last year. She “learned a lot” about working with the firearms community.
“It was a really interesting experience for me,” she recalled. “There was no disagreement. We all came to the table thinking we might disagree but every time we talked, there was more common ground.”
She was cautiously optimistic that the Legislature would approve the budget items affecting the bill so that the governor would sign it. Still, the fact that the bill passed so overwhelmingly by both the House and Senate was “historic,” she said.
“I am glad and grateful to everyone involved in getting this legislation passed,” Rep. Orwall said via e-mail, “because I sincerely believe it will be highly effective on raising awareness of suicide prevention and lethal means. I am looking forward to the start of the Safer Homes Task force work and am very interested in reading the report next winter with the survey findings and the project’s progress. The goal is to save lives, I think this bill is a great start.”
“I am personally gratified by the Legislature’s action,” Gottlieb said. “This is the culmination of a year’s worth of quiet meetings and truly heartfelt conversations that involved suicide prevention experts and the Second Amendment community.”
Gottlieb was genuinely surprised by the overwhelming support the bill received in both the House, where it initially passed 93-4, and in the Senate, which passed an amended version 47-0. When the amended bill went back to the House, lawmakers concurred and voted 94-2.
Ironically, gun control groups were unable to advance any of their legislative items during the session.
“Suicide prevention is not, and should never be, about gun control, but about saving lives and preventing tragedies,” Gottlieb observed. “Working with Orwall and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, along with Brian Judy at the NRA demonstrates that people with diverse interests can come together and produce something that I think will be good for the citizens of Washington State.”
