PTSD in Veterans and Firearm Safety
This month, I want to talk about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans and how that relates to firearm safety.
Firearm safety is a very important subject to talk about these days. Everywhere you turn, you hear about shootings that have happened in houses where firearms have not been properly stored. Kids are picking up firearms from home and taking them to school to show their friends. Recently, in my area, a 2-year-old brought a loaded pistol to daycare. So, my message today encompasses general firearm safety as well as a heightened awareness for those who are veterans or have veterans in their lives who suffer from PTSD.
LEVEL ONE SECURITY
If you have firearms in your home, you must be a responsible gun owner and protect yourself as well as the lives of others, that is the law. Firearm safety is simple. Placing your firearms out of reach from children is a good first step. Keeping your firearms in a locked drawer or cabinet is crucial for the safety of everyone. Firearm locks are not expensive and will save lives. Cable locks are also an affordable option if you cannot afford a safe or lockable cabinet.
Another way to make your firearms safe is that you can remove the bolt from bolt action rifles and you can do the same for AR style firearms. Lock the bolt up in a separate area. A simple field strip of a pistol can also keep firearms from causing accidents. Locking up the slide assembly in a different place than the frame will keep the firearm from being picked up and causing a fatal accident.
LEVEL TWO SECURITY
The next level to keep your firearms safe are lockable cabinets, lock boxes, and small gun safes meant for handguns. Utilizing this type of security allows you to store longer firearms like rifles and shotguns and gets them out of view.
There are many of these types of cabinets and smaller safes. They are reasonably priced as well. As an extra security measure, you can use Level One security measures in these cabinets and small safes as well. A cable locked rifle in a lockable gun cabinet with the bolt removed has three levels of security. The chances of that firearm causing harm is greatly reduced.
LEVEL THREE SECURITY
This level of security will include the large gun safes that can hold many firearms, they are usually fire rated for a certain temperature and time. Depending on how large your collection is you may want to invest in a vault door. This requires a room with a door. The door itself is removed, and a vault door is installed. This option is expensive and needs to be installed correctly. As I mentioned above, you can still incorporate level one security into larger gun safes and vault rooms.
LIFE SAVING SECURITY
All these methods of keeping your firearms safe are available and very easy to get. However, having these security levels will not necessarily save the lives of Veterans who suffer from PTSD. It is important to have an action plan to support the person who is suffering from PTSD. This plan could save their lives. The first thing you need in your plan is a Suicide Prevention Contract. You do not need this to be done professionally. This contract is between the Veteran and a loved one. It simply states that the veteran will not take his/her life or anyone else’s life when things get bad. A sample contract is listed below:
I,_____________________________________, hereby agree that I will not harm myself in any way, attempt suicide, or die by suicide.
Furthermore, I agree that I will take the following actions if I am ever suicidal:
1) I will remind myself that I can never, under any circumstances, harm myself in any way, attempt suicide, or die by suicide.
2) I will call 911 if I believe that I am in immediate danger of harming myself.
3) I will call any or all the following numbers if I am not in immediate danger of harming myself but have suicidal thoughts (please list names, phone numbers, addresses, and any other relevant contact information below):
1-800-SUICIDE – 24-hour suicide prevention line that can be called from anywhere in the U.S.
or
Veteran Crisis Line # 988 then press 1.
4) I will continue talking on the phone with as many people as necessary for as long as necessary until the suicidal thoughts have subsided.
Signature______________________________ Date___________________
Witness_______________________________ Date___________________
Once the contract is in place, you can begin to discuss what you as the loved one can do to keep the veteran from harming themselves. Regarding firearms that are available to the veteran, you need a plan to remove the keys, change combinations, or completely remove the firearms from the veteran. As I mentioned above, the veteran needs to be able to be part of this plan. The plan is not to take away a veteran’s firearms forever, just away from them while they are dealing with thoughts of harming themselves.
Conclusion
Learning and being able to recognize the signs of a veteran who deals with PTSD and knowing what to do next can save their life. If you are a veteran and suffer from PTSD or have a loved one who does, you may need to seek help from the VA. You do not have to be a current patient or someone who is receiving VA benefits. The VA is there to help all veterans who deal with PTSD.
I live with PTSD every day as well as my sons. All of us have dealt with the symptoms. And have received help to battle it. That is only three veterans out of thousands that deal with battlefield trauma.
These numbers are heartbreaking.
Let us take care of those who volunteered to take care of us, even unto death. They took an oath to defend the rights and freedom of every person in America. Let us take care of “Our Greatest Generation.” Take the time to have the conversations that need to take place and put the measures in place to keep us all safe. Remember:
“John 15: 13 – Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Semper Fi!
Written by: David Johnson
