Matthew Albright

The News Journal

Gov. Jack Markell has signed an executive order creating a new Firearm Suicide Prevention Task Force, his office announced Tuesday.

About 40,000 people kill themselves each year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control. About half of those suicides are committed with guns.

An average of two Delawareans a week die from suicides, more than motor vehicle deaths and homicides.

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The new task force will research solutions implemented in other states and look at improving training and education of gun owners and sellers and better connecting those at risk of suicide with mental health care. The group will submit a report by January 1.

The group's members include legislators, the Commission on Veteran's Affairs, the Delaware Sportsman Association, gun sellers, suicide prevention groups and state officials in the health, kids and natural resources agencies.

“Suicide tragically cuts short lives, while devastating families and having long-lasting effects on communities," Markell said in a news release. "I’m particularly concerned by the number of these acts that involve the use of firearms and we have the opportunity to engage a wide range of advocates to find solutions that reduce the number of these tragedies."

Last month, Markell signed a bill permanently establishing the Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition, which has worked to raise awareness about the deaths and better coordinate mental health services.

Senate President Pro Tempore Patricia Blevins, a leader of that coalition, praised Markell's executive order.

“Suicide is a preventable symptom of a larger problem, whether that’s substance abuse, depression, PTSD or some other trauma,” Blevins said in the release. “More than half of all gun-related deaths in America are self-inflicted, and each day thousands of people—many of whom are veterans, or even our own kids—continue to suffer in silence. We owe it to them, to those we’ve lost and to ourselves to take a scientific approach to suicide prevention."

Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright.