| Gun Owners of Vermont: Suicide & Mental Health |
| GoVT: Defending Vermonters' Constitutional Firearms Rights Since 1997! |
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| 11/2/2021: White House rolls out new plan to combat gun suicides in US | White House rolls out new plan to combat gun suicides |
| 4/3/18: True North OPINION "Mass shootings and Vermont’s mental health system" by Matthew Strong | "Mass shootings and Vermont’s mental health system" |
3/2/18: VTDigger "Hopes for gun legislation before recess scuttled in House"
Because Maxine Grad & Martin LaLonde are SO anti-gun, they screwed up a unanimously approved bill! | "Hopes for gun legislation before recess scuttled in House" |
| 2/26/18: Mad in America "Psychiatrist Says: More Psychiatry Means More Shootings" by Peter Breggin, MD | "Psychiatrist Says: More Psychiatry Means More Shootings" |
2/25/18: "Nearly 600 added to gun background check database"
I remember sitting in testimony on S141 and being told, "No more than 200 adjudicated Vermonters will be submitted to the NICS system…"
More lies. | "Nearly 600 added to gun background check database" |
2/21/18: Reason "Searching for Gun Solutions That Don't Collectivize Punishment"
"Are "gun violence restraining orders" the answer?"
Anti-Gun opinion | "Searching for Gun Solutions That Don't Collectivize Punishment" |
2/20/18: Reason "Are Gun Violence Restraining Orders Consistent With Due Process?"
"Such orders can easily be used to take away innocent people's Second Amendment rights."
Pro-Gun Opinion | "Are Gun Violence Restraining Orders Consistent With Due Process?" |
2/16/18: Reason "Disarming 'Individuals With Mental Illness' Would Affect a Quarter of the Population"
"Even a narrower approach, focused on purported risk, deprives many innocent people of their constitutional rights."
Pro-Gun Opinion | "Disarming 'Individuals With Mental Illness' Would Affect a Quarter of the Population" |
2/14/18: Reason "Yes, This Is a Good Time To Talk About Gun Violence and How To Reduce It"
Anti-Gun Opinion | "Yes, This Is a Good Time To Talk About Gun Violence and How To Reduce It" |
2/9/18: BFP "Report: VT gun law adds 589 people to background check list"
See the fallout from the 2015 bill S.141.
In committee, we were told AT MOST 200 Vermonters would be effected.
See how fast that number TRIPLED!!!
Wilda White, executive director of Vermont Psychiatric Survivors, said some Vermonters were surprised and confused when they received letters stating they had been added to the national database.
"People are not being appraised of the ramifications of stipulating to this sort of non-hospitalization," White said. "I don't think people would ever imagine that they're going to be reported to a national database as a result of it." | "Report: VT gun law adds 589 people to background check list" |
9/29/17: VidMe VIDEO "Vermont Issues 72: Vermont to Tackle Firearm Suicides"
Opinion video by Styxhexenhammer666 | "Vermont Issues 72: Vermont to Tackle Firearm Suicides" |
Vermont Public Radio "Vermont Officials Look To Cut Down Number Of Suicides By Gun"
VPR is taking their Vermont anti-gun project ACROSS THE NATION!
This article is popping up across the country, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, etc… | "Vermont Officials Look To Cut Down Number Of Suicides By Gun" |
9/16/17: "Suicide prevention bill would let people voluntarily prohibit themselves from owning a gun"
ANYTHING to take guns away from citizens. Sounds "insane" to me, what other RIGHT can you SIGN AWAY? | "Suicide prevention bill would let people voluntarily prohibit themselves from owning a gun" |
8/11/17: VPR VERMONT THIS WEEK
Part of the MASSIVE anti-gun "Gunshots Project"
Gun Control discussion starts at 18:30 regarding homicides and suicides from 2011 to 2016. | Video: VPR VERMONT THIS WEEK |
8/9/17: VPR "'This Is About Safety': Preventing Gun Suicides In Vermont "
Both the anti-gun side and the pro-gun side of this issue is explored.
The Gun Shop Project is mentioned. | "'This Is About Safety': Preventing Gun Suicides In Vermont " |
8/8/17: VPR "Gunshots: Vermont Gun Deaths, 2011-2016"
"The role of guns in life — and death — in Vermont." | "Gunshots: Vermont Gun Deaths, 2011-2016"
"The role of guns in life — and death — in Vermont." |
"VPR Gunshots Project Data Set: Vermont Gun Death Certificate Data, 2011-2016"
The 2017 VPR report RAW DATA. | "VPR Gunshots Project Data Set: Vermont Gun Death Certificate Data, 2011-2016" |
| "Vermont Voices: How Do Guns Fit Into Your Life?" | "Vermont Voices: How Do Guns Fit Into Your Life?" |
| 8/7/17: VPR "Suicide Prevention: What To Do If You Think Someone Needs Help" | "Suicide Prevention: What To Do If You Think Someone Needs Help" |
5/2/17: Salamanca Press "Attorney: NY violates 2nd Amendment with SAFE Act"
Phil Scott has turned on Vermont gun owners with his version of the NY SAFE Act.
The Vermont SAFE Act is funded by Bloomberg and unleashed by the Vermont Democratic Party. | "Attorney: NY violates 2nd Amendment with SAFE Act" |
3/23/17: WPTZ "Gun shop owners aid in suicide prevention"
Vermont's Gun Shop Project gets more coverage. | "Gun shop owners aid in suicide prevention" |
| 2/20/17: ACLU "Gun Control Laws Should Be Fair" | "Gun Control Laws Should Be Fair" |
12/20/16: VT Digger: "South Burlington man charged with possessing firearm"
Be careful what you ask for.
Think back to S141 and the testimony of the anti-gun speakers, "they don't ever prosecute for possession at the federal level in Vermont, that's why we need this new law."
Prosecuting under Act 191 in Vermont would be a misdemeanor.
So, this mentally ill youth is facing TEN YEARS in prison for simply possessing a gun, not using it, or even threatening to use it.
I guess the anti-gunners want to make an example of this mentally challenged kid and throw the book at him.
He probably didn't even know it was wrong for him to possess a gun.
The kid needs councilling and care, not jail time.
My two cents. - Bob | "South Burlington man charged with possessing firearm" |
11/16/16: FOX News "Preventing gun suicides may require changes to background check laws"
Some points we have made over the last two years, but the only commentary from anti-gun sources. | "Preventing gun suicides may require changes to background check laws" |
10/5/2016: Bangor Daily News OPINION: "My aunts died from gun suicides. Maine can do more to prevent gun tragedies in the home."
HERE we have the same rhetoric that we will hear in Vermont in 2017 in the push for Universal Background Registration Checks.
The stories are the SAME. The rhetoric is the SAME. The events are the SAME. Just the names change.
Don't believe the lies. They are all scripted. | "My aunts died from gun suicides. Maine can do more to prevent gun tragedies in the home." |
| 10/4/2016: Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership "Debunking Suicide “Research” by Public Health Activists" by Gary Mauser, PhD | "Debunking Suicide “Research” by Public Health Activists" |
9/13/2016: NECN: "Deadly Shooting Inspires Vermont Police Training on Mental Health Emergencies"
"Burlington Police say calls involving mental health emergencies and substance abuse are up markedly" by Jack Thurston | "Deadly Shooting Inspires Vermont Police Training on Mental Health Emergencies" |
9/9/2016: VPR "Vermont's Suicide Prevention Strategies" by Mitch Wertlieb & Patti Daniels
The Vermont Gun Shop Project again in the news! | "Vermont's Suicide Prevention Strategies" |
9/2/2016: VPR "Collaborative Effort To Reduce Gun Suicides Focuses On Outreach"
A short article on the Vermont Gun Shop Project.
The ONLY proactive program in the nation! | "Collaborative Effort To Reduce Gun Suicides Focuses On Outreach" |
| 9/1/2016: Press Release: Vermont Gunshop Project (1st Year) | Gun Owners of Vermont public statement regarding the first year of the project and the first 2 public training sessions for the gun-owning population of Vermont! |
9/1/2016: WCAX "Unusual partnership aims to reduce suicide in Vermont" by Kyle Midura.
The Vermont Gun Shop Project gets public acknowledgement. | "Unusual partnership aims to reduce suicide in Vermont" |
| 9/1/2016: VT Digger "Disparate groups unite on effort to cut gun-related suicides" | "Disparate groups unite on effort to cut gun-related suicides" |
8/25/16: OPINION: "Bettis: Question suicide rate"
Here, Gun Sense Vermont activist Sandra Bettis attacks gun owners for doing nothing about suicides, when in FACT, we CREATED 'The Vermont Gun Shop Project' to address suicide amongst Vermont gun owners!
ANOTHER GUN SENSE ATTACK ON GUN OWNERS!
Read Eddie's response below. | "Bettis: Question suicide rate"
Sandra Bettis attacks gun owners |
8/27/16: OPINION: "Cutler: Question the questioner"
Response by Gun Owners of Vermont president, Eddie Cutler, regarding 'The Vermont Gun Shop Project"'
All the anti-gunners can do is LIE! | "Cutler: Question the questioner"
Response by Gun Owners of Vermont president, Eddie Cutler. |
| June 2016: Washington Post "Fact Checker - The missing context behind the widely cited statistic that there are 22 veteran suicides a day" | "Fact Checker - The missing context behind the widely cited statistic that there are 22 veteran suicides a day" |
5/5/2016: The Blaze - "Social Security Administration Formally Proposes What NRA Has Called the ‘Largest Gun Grab in American History’"
Obama is leaving the White House only after doing as much damage to our nation as possible… | "Social Security Administration Formally Proposes What NRA Has Called the ‘Largest Gun Grab in American History’" |
| March 2016 MSN: VIDEO "Vermont Gun Lobby Sparheads Mental Health Education for Gun Owners" | "Vermont Gun Lobby Sparheads Mental Health Education for Gun Owners" |
March 2016 AudioBoom "Vermont gun lobby bypasses Sanders v Clinton in attempt to cut down suicides"
"At the same time as they fought back against new regulations, Cutler and other gun rights leaders proposed a different approach: educating gun owners about suicide risk and how to de-stigmatize seeking mental health treatment. A year later, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of Vermont are rolling out a program to bring suicide awareness to gun stores, ranges, and clubs. They will also host training on how to talk to friends in crisis about getting help."
"Experts from the state’s department of mental health have worked closely on the project, but gun rights groups are leading the public outreach. They have vetted every poster and fact sheet to make sure the suicide prevention message is not mixed with anti-gun rhetoric." | "Vermont gun lobby bypasses Sanders v Clinton in attempt to cut down suicides" |
2/29/2016: The Guardian - "Vermont gun lobby bypasses Sanders v Clinton in attempt to cut down suicides"
"As its senator is forced to fight his presidential opponent over his record on gun control, the New England state is home to a push to educate sellers" by Lois Beckett
An excellent article on the Vermont Gun Shop Project by Lois Beckett. | "Vermont gun lobby bypasses Sanders v Clinton in attempt to cut down suicides"
"As its senator is forced to fight his presidential opponent over his record on gun control, the New England state is home to a push to educate sellers" |
2/16/2016: My Champlain Valley "Guns Play Major Role In Domestic Violence Situations"
"Since 1994, Half of All Homicides in Vermont Related to Domestic Violence"
HERE IS THE PUSH FOR UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS!
The "EXPERTS" agree…
The truth is, since Vermont's TOTAL number of homicides has NEVER reached the plateau where valid statistical "rates" can actually be calculated, statistics used to "prove" the anti-gunners' political justification for infringement of Constitutional rights wildly fluctuate. However, the actual trend is a 40% DECREASE over the last 2 decades! | "Guns Play Major Role In Domestic Violence Situations" |
The truth is, since Vermont's TOTAL number of homicides has NEVER reached the plateau where valid statistical "rates" can actually be calculated (that number is 20), statistics used to "prove" the anti-gunners' political justification for infringement of Constitutional rights wildly fluctuate.
However, the actual trend is a 40% DECREASE over the last 2 decades!
This is NOT what the anti-gun networks tell the public! | Domestic Violence Homicide Statistics 1994-2014 - Showing a 40% DECREASE since the 1990s! |
2/12/2016: Bennington Banner "Advocates push to make suicide prevention a central issue" By Cory Dawson
Alex Potter: Of all the deaths by gunshot in Vermont, about 90 percent of them were suicides, he said.
"It's not about taking away guns completely. It's about how can we help during that little window when someone is suicidal," he said. Pro-gun groups like the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs and Gun Owners of Vermont have signed on to the Gun Shop project, a program by the center aimed at reducing suicide deaths by firearms." | "Advocates push to make suicide prevention a central issue" |
| "Brattleboro gun owners help out project focused on preventing suicide" by Lynzi DeLuccia | "Brattleboro gun owners help out project focused on preventing suicide" by Lynzi DeLuccia |
| Share the WCAX Vermont Gun Shop Article on Twitter! | Share the Vermont Gun Shop Article on Twitter! |
2/5/2016: Brattleboro Reformer "Vermont Gun Shop Project addresses firearm-related suicides"
"Led by Gun Owners of Vermont, Center for Health and Learning in Brattleboro, effort seeks to reduce firearm-related suicides" By Maddi Shaw | "Vermont Gun Shop Project addresses firearm-related suicides" |
1/26/2016: My Champlain Valley "Task Force Recommends Screening All Adults for Depression"
Here is exactly why we need to keep the government "lists" to an absolute minimum. If states are forced to turn over all forms of "mental health" records, people will be reluctant to speak truefully to councilors and will prevent people from obtaining any help they actually need. | "Task Force Recommends Screening All Adults for Depression" |
12/19/2015: The Point (MAINE) "Gap in mental health records, background checks undermines gun safety in Maine, group claims"
Well folks, here you see what we were saying during the S.141 testimony. Michael Bloomberg talking points being used as fact in anti-gun campaigns all over New England.
During testimony for S.141 Gun Sense VT and their minions in other anti-gun groups used the line "Vermont is the only state that doesn't turn over mental health info to the federal NICS system."
The same line has recently been used in New Hampshire.
Now, in Maine.
People, we have got to band together and STOP the Bloomberg Anytown train. | "Gap in mental health records, background checks undermines gun safety in Maine, group claims" |
11/23/2015: GunFreeZone - "California Confiscatory Overreaching? The Case of Albert Sheakalee."
The dangers of Registration and Mental Health Databases! | "California Confiscatory Overreaching? The Case of Albert Sheakalee." |
| 11/11/2015: Yahoo! News - "Three Charts Show The Giant Disconnect Between Gun Deaths and Mental Health" | "Three Charts Show The Giant Disconnect Between Gun Deaths and Mental Health" |
| 10/26/2015: YAHOO Health - "The Number of Male Domestic Abuse Victims Is Shockingly High — So Why Don’t We Hear About Them?" by Jenna Birch | "The Number of Male Domestic Abuse Victims Is Shockingly High — So Why Don’t We Hear About Them?" |
10/19/2015: The Federalist - "The Problem With Blaming Mass Shootings On Mental Illness"
"Helping people with mental illness requires thoughtful responses, not stereotyping." | "The Problem With Blaming Mass Shootings On Mental Illness" |
| WikiPedia article: "Political abuse of psychiatry" | "Political abuse of psychiatry" |
10/9/2015: "Top Psychiatrist’s Stunning Announcement About Gun Violence" By Paula J. Caplan, PhD
How the media twists comments from medical personnel into their own anti-gun agenda! | "Top Psychiatrist’s Stunning Announcement About Gun Violence" |
| 10/8/2015: The Take-Away - "Voice of Gun Rights: Mass Shootings Are About People, Not Weapons" | "Voice of Gun Rights: Mass Shootings Are About People, Not Weapons" |
1/16/2013: Rob Myers - '“Riddle of the Gun” or, the Best Article I’ve Ever Read'
Unusual, but very insightful article on how to stop violence of all kinds.
I don't agree with the original author, but TALKING to people always is a better idea than ignoring them... | Fact Checker - "Obama’s claim that ‘states with the most gun laws tend to have the fewest gun deaths’" |
| "Obama Peddles Gun Control Fable" By Hans Bader | "Obama Peddles Gun Control Fable" |
10/4/2015: The New York Times "Mass Murderers Fit Profile, as Do Many Others Who Don’t Kill" By N. R. KLEINFIELD, RUSS BUETTNER, DAVID W. CHEN and NIKITA STEWART
From his research, Dr. Fox believes that in the universe of mass murderers, including the domestic killers, the robbers and the burglars, mental illness was not a significant factor. “Most involved in the family massacres are not seriously mentally ill, but vengeful,” he said.
But when it comes to seemingly indiscriminate killings like those in Oregon, that is another matter. “For the purely random attackers, that’s where you find psychotic thinking,” “The more indiscriminate, the more likely there is serious mental illness.”
Dr. Duwe, among his 160 cases of mass public killers, concluded that 61 percent had a serious mental health disorder, "or at least had some symptoms indicating that they did have one." Paranoid schizophrenia was the most common ailment, he said, followed by depression. | "Mass Murderers Fit Profile, as Do Many Others Who Don’t Kill" |
| 10/2/2015: Christian Science Monitor - "Many school shooters, one common factor: a warped view of masculinity" | "Many school shooters, one common factor: a warped view of masculinity" |
09/27/15: VT Digger - "Suicide prevention group hopes to curb surge in Vermont deaths"
"Ann Braden, of Gun Sense Vermont, who attended the Vermont Suicide Prevention Center event Thursday..."
“Restricting the numbers of firearms-related suicides is really important,” Braden said."
Notice her choice of words, "restricting", not "reducing," shows what her goal still is...
In 2016, the Gun Owners of Vermont and the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs piloted the Vermont Gun Shop Project to educate the public about suicide prevention!
In 2016, Gun Sense was nowhere to be found, because they don't care about actually helping people, they just want LEGISLATION! | Vermont Suicide Prevention Center working to reduce suicides |
9/24/2015: WCAX: "Efforts to stem Vermont's growing struggle with suicide"
Again guns are mentioned in connection with suicide attempts. They are running the narrative on the subject. | Efforts to stem Vermont's growing struggle with suicide |
| 9/20/2015: Daily Caller - "Gun Control Not Associated With Reducing Suicides" | Gun Control Not Associated With Reducing Suicides |
11/11/2015: BLOOMBERG's The Trace - "The Doctor Who Tries to Cure Gun Violence By Treating It Like a Contagious Disease"
While the concept makes sense, the practice of "CeaseFire" has NOT worked in Chicago. While the overall murder rate has decreased over time, the number of homicides BY firearm has only INCREASED over the same period of time to 88% in 2015.
I personally DO agree with the very last statement made: "The media, without a doubt, has a role in facilitating more events. There is research that shows that fewer headlines can equal fewer incidents and vice versa. The repeated nature of the showing of the event serves to spread or accelerate the transmission of the behavior."
STOP PUBLICISING THE KILLER'S NAME! | "The Doctor Who Tries to Cure Gun Violence By Treating It Like a Contagious Disease" |
7/26/2015: The Unbounded Spirit "Nonconformity and Freethinking Now Considered Mental Illnesses"
"All of this is a symptom of our over-diagnosing and overmedicating culture. In the last 50 years, the DSM-IV has gone from 130 to 357 mental illnesses. A majority of these illnesses afflict children."
"According to the DSM-IV, the diagnosis guidelines for identifying oppositional defiant disorder are for children, but adults can just as easily suffer from the disease. This should give any freethinking American reason for worry."
"The Soviet Union used new “mental illnesses” for political repression. People who didn’t accept the beliefs of the Communist Party developed a new type of schizophrenia. They suffered from the delusion of believing communism was wrong. They were isolated, forcefully medicated, and put through repressive “therapy” to bring them back to sanity." | "Nonconformity and Freethinking Now Considered Mental Illnesses" |
7/2/2015: VT Digger "The Vermont Zero Suicide Initiative, community strategies, and more presented at Vermont Suicide Prevention Symposium"
Gun Owners of Vermont has taken this issue on with the new Vermont Gun Shop Project (rolling out in February 2016) | "The Vermont Zero Suicide Initiative, community strategies, and more presented at Vermont Suicide Prevention Symposium" |
Editorial: May 2015 by Massad Ayoob
Backwoods Home Magazine: Guns, suicide prevention, and backwoods lifestyles
Interesting commentary by one of the most famous voices in firearms training.
Explains the importance of friends and neighbors helping each other. | Backwoods Home Magazine: Guns, suicide prevention, and backwoods lifestyles |
4/23/2015: Waterbury Record: "Legislator takes stand on gun bill"
Listen to the anti-gun legislator Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, espouse Vermont's "changing culture of Vermont". | "Legislator takes stand on gun bill" |
3/16/2015: Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership "Can ‘Gun Violence’ Be Addressed as a Public Health Issue?" by Robert B Young, MD
See how "gun violence" does not have anything to do with the guns themselves. As the good doctor puts it, "Using guns isn't a disease, and people, not weapons, are the agents of harm." | "Can ‘Gun Violence’ Be Addressed as a Public Health Issue?" by Robert B Young, MD |
Interesting Report: Reducing Suicide Risk by Limiting Access to Lethal Means: Impact of Firearms & Other Lethal Means on Suicidal Individuals, October 2014, Prepared for the Vermont Department of Mental Health by The Center for Health and Learning
This document includes a report on the New Hampshire Gun Shop Project that Gun Owners of Vermont used in testimony in 2015. | Report: Reducing Suicide Risk by Limiting Access to Lethal Means |
| American Association of Suicidology: Suicide Statistics | American Association of Suicidology: Suicide Statistics |
Doctors for Reponsible Gun Ownership: "Boundary Violation: Gun Politics in the Doctor’s Office"
Originally published in the March/April 1999 issue of Medical Sentinel. | "Boundary Violation: Gun Politics in the Doctor’s Office" |
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