In an effort to prevent suicides, local researchers at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus have identified 62 locations in the state where a person can temporarily store their firearms outside of the home during a mental health crisis.
Of those, 15 are law enforcement agencies and 47 are gun shops, according to a news release.
Faculty with the Colorado School of Public Health and the CU School of Medicine created an online map of those locations that can be used for residents looking for a place to temporarily store their guns.
“When someone is at risk of suicide, temporarily storing a gun away from the home is the safest option,” said Sara Brandspigel, assistant director for the program for injury prevention, education and research at the School of Public Health.
Nationally, more than 80% of adolescents who died by firearm suicide used a gun that belonged to a family member, she said. The researchers worked on the map with the Colorado Firearm Safety Coalition.
The creation of the map comes as Colorado has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation. In 2017, more than 1,180 individuals died by suicide in the state, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2017, about 50% of suicides in the state involved a firearm, according to a report by the Colorado Health Institute.
This year state lawmakers passed a red-flag law that gives judges the ability to temporarily remove guns from people believed to be at a high risk of harming themselves or others. Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is suing to stop the state’s red-flag law from taking effect.
