Gov. Inslee Signs Launches Statewide Suicide Prevention Plan and Signs Firearms Fatality Prevention Executive Order

Citing information showing that firearms are used in more than 80 percent of suicides and that firearms-related deaths now exceed motor vehicle crash deaths, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed Executive Order 16-02 – Firearm Fatality Prevention – A Public Health Approach.

The purpose of the executive order is to propose actions to reduce and prevent gun-related violence, crime, fatalities and injuries, and to announce implementation of the new Statewide Suicide Prevention Plan.

In the media conference announcing the signing of the executive order, Governor Inslee noted that:

• firearm deaths now exceed motor vehicle crash deaths;
• suicides account for nearly 80 percent of all firearm deaths;
• suicide is the second leading cause of death in our youth and young adults (ages 10-34), and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth have higher suicide attempts than the general population;
• men are more than six times as likely to die than women by suicide with a firearm;
• veterans are at higher risk of suicide compared to the general population of Washington residents;
• two of the strongest predictors of suicide are mental illness and substance abuse;
• American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest suicide rate and gun-related suicide rate of any racial or ethnic group in Washington;
• African American youth are disproportionately more likely to be a victim of homicide by firearm;
• on average there are at least eight unintentional or accidental firearm deaths each year, though, according to medical examiners and coroners, this is likely underreported because adult cases are often classified as homicides;
• domestic violence homicide perpetrators use firearms more often than all other methods combined, and over half of these perpetrators were legally prohibited from owning firearms at the time the homicide occurred;

Gov. Inslee directed several state agencies to immediately begin work on separate elements of a firearm fatality prevention strategy:

1. The Departments of Health, Social and Health Services, University of Washington and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall collect, review, and disseminate data on deaths and injury hospitalizations attributed to firearms and make recommendations about specific prevention and safety strategies to reduce these fatalities and serious injuries;
2. The Office of Financial Management shall conduct a gap analysis to determine the effectiveness of statutorily mandated information sharing between the courts, local jurisdictions, law enforcement, Department of Social and Health Services, Washington State Patrol, Department of Licensing and other involved entities to determine where we can build on the effectiveness of our system for background checks.
3. The Department of Health shall begin implementation of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Plan in collaboration with the Governor’s Health Leadership team, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and other partners. Implementation shall:
   1. promote depression and suicide risk screening tools, coordinate with Healthier Washington’s integration of behavioral health and primary care in high need communities and assess availability of depression screens in Medicaid and across the insurance continuum;
   2. begin with a social marketing campaign prioritizing populations with the highest risk to raise suicide awareness and prevention, and coordinate with other partners, including the University of Washington and Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention, and agencies operating crisis lines; and,
   3. focus on recommendations coming from a gap analysis of existing programs specific to our schools, Veteran and Native American and Alaskan Native communities and be carried out in collaboration with the respective state agencies, federal partners and sovereign Indian Nations, and should specifically include planning with Tribal behavioral health care providers and mental health crisis providers to coordinate the provision of effective, culturally appropriate crisis intervention and treatment services
4. The Office of the Attorney General will update its 2007 white paper on firearm access by persons prohibited from possessing a firearm due to involuntary commitment. The Attorney General shall survey the statutes and implementation of statutes regarding persons prohibited from firearm possession for any reason, and specifically analyze current enforcement practices against unlawful attempts to purchase firearms by or for a person prohibited from possessing a firearm.