Local news
The Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network is targeting gun shops as part of its public awareness campaign to try to prevent deaths.
An example is a poster on display in a Memphis gun store noting that suicides in Tennessee far outnumber homicides, and firearms are the leading method, The Commercial Appeal (http://bit.ly/1RrFVxk) reported. The sign lists a crisis hotline.
Will Bass, the gun shop's general manager, said it's good to have anti-suicide messages posted in the shop, just in case a customer is thinking about ending his or her own life. "To hopefully get them thinking 'Maybe this isn't the best option,'" Bass said.
Each year, hundreds of people in Tennessee use guns to kill themselves. Existing laws won't necessarily stop people with mental illnesses or suicidal intent from buying weapons, but the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network's Gun Safety Project is trying to prevent deaths through the public awareness campaign that targets gun stores and gun ranges. The network is a public-private partnership associated with the state government.
Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/news/article20624568.html#storylink=cpy
