This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In Utah, 82 percent of all deaths from firearms are suicides. So lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday that seeks to decrease that.
The House Health and Human Services Committee unanimously endorsed HB390, and sent it to the full House.
Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, its sponsor, said it would create a program to train owners of gun stores and shooting ranges to recognize signs of someone being suicidal and how to handle the situation.
It would also provide signs and other printed materials that may be able to help people.
"We can actually bring down the number of firearm suicides," Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, said. "We can do it without government mandates," noting that participation in the new programs would be voluntary.
Aposhian said Utah ranks No. 4 nationally in suicides, and No. 7 in suicides by gunshot.
The action comes after groups seeking to raise more awareness about suicide placed 613 pairs of shoes on the steps of the Utah Capitol earlier this week — one for each suicide in the state last year.
Some House members raised the issue of teen suicides in opposing a bill earlier this week that would allow residents as young as 18 to obtain concealed gun permits. Currently, a person must be 21 to get such a permit. The measure, HB198, passed 63-12 and awaits consideration in the Senate.
— Lee Davidson