New Alabama law allows people with suicidal thoughts to voluntarily surrender firearms
Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday signed a bill that would give gun owners a new option for voluntarily surrendering their firearms while they try to overcome suicidal thoughts.
SB40, brought forth by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, authorizes firearm hold agreements between individuals and federal firearm licensees (FFLs) and creates the Storing Ammunition and Firearms to Enhance Resilience Together (SAFER) Program.
A key purpose of the bill is to prevent suicide by veterans, who sometimes battle PTSD or other difficulties associated with returning to civilian life after combat or after serving in the military, according to Kelley.
“Safety and security for veterans is one of my top priorities, just as they have protected and taken care of us,” Ivey said in today’s release.
“SB40 paves the way for Alabama to continue being the number one state for veteran care, quality of life and ensuring that veterans are equipped with the best mental health resources.”
Under hold agreements, a gun owner would give their firearm to a federally licensed gun dealer or a county or municipal law enforcement officer.
The gun dealer or law enforcement officer would hold the gun for an agreed period of time and return it to the owner.
The gun dealer or law enforcement officer could not be held liable in a civil lawsuit for returning the firearm to the owner at the end of the hold agreement.
The law is tabbed the Houston Hunter Act, named after Army veteran Houston Tumlin and Marine veteran Hunter Whitley, who both lost their lives to suicide, according to the release.
Tumlin’s mother, Michelle, and Whitley’s mother, Shannon, were present as the bill was signed.
“When they tell their story, the pain comes through, how they worked so hard to try to save their sons and they don’t want their sons’ death to be in vain,” Kelley said previously.
“They both felt like that if this had been in place then that it very likely could have saved their sons’ lives.”
Data shows 139 veterans in Alabama died by suicide in 2022, which rates higher than the national veteran average and significantly higher than the national civilian average, according to Ivey’s release.
And more than 85% of Alabama’s veterans suicide involve a firearm, it continues.
“The uptick in Alabama’s focus regarding veteran’s suicide prevention follows statewide effort Alabama’s Challenge for Preventing Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families, which aims to combat the continuing stigma veterans face with mental illness,” it reads.
In some cases, gun owners are likely to be more comfortable temporarily surrendering their guns to a firearms dealer than turning them over to a family member, Kelley said previously.
“It’s just another avenue to try to get them time to where they can get some help and have a place where they know they can go and retrieve it,” he said.
“Sometimes family members may not give it back to you.”
The bill will go into effect on June 1.
For more information on veteran’s suicide prevention resources in Alabama, Ivey’s office urged residents to visit vetsforhope.com.