Study: CT’s gun-seizure law saves lives

A new study of Connecticut’s 17-year-old gun-seizure law found that dozens of suicides were prevented by taking weapons away from potentially violent or self-destructive people. A new study of Connecticut’s 17-year-old gun-seizure law found that dozens of suicides were prevented by taking weapons away from potentially violent or self-destructive people. Photo: Autumn Driscoll / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Autumn Driscoll / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close Study: CT’s gun-seizure law saves lives 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

Dozens of suicides have been prevented by the state’s 1999 gun-seizure law, according to a new study by researchers from Duke, Yale and the University of Connecticut.

The 17-year-old law allowing for the temporary removal of firearms from potentially suicidal or violent people is a model for the nation, based on the review of 762 gun seizures through 2012.

The study’s authors, speaking Thursday to the Connecticut Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission in the state Capitol, reported that for every 10 to 20 gun removals, a potential suicide is thwarted.

Under the calculations of the researchers, which included the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, 38 to 76 suicides may have been stopped since the state law was adopted in the wake of the 1998 murders at the Connecticut Lottery headquarters.

It was the first such law in the nation to preemptively take away guns from people classified by courts as a risk to themselves or others.

The average number of guns taken away from people in crisis through court order is seven. The average age of those who law enforcement applied to state courts for temporary gun removal is 47.

Ninety-two percent of gun owners involved in such cases are males and nearly 30 percent of the 762 cases enrolled in state mental health treatment for the first time in the year after the incident.

“Many people have many guns,” said Jeffrey Swanson, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the Duke University School of Medicine, stressing that the law has proven to be a suicide-prevention program.

“There are a lot of risky people out there who are just not prohibited from purchasing guns,” said Swanson, lead author of the study. “They often have guns legally. There are many people who should be alive today except for the fact that they had a firearm at that time.”

More Information Connecticut Suicides Year Men Women Total 1998 211 58 269 2005 245 56 301 2010 283 75 358 2015 283 103 386 Connecticut Suicides* Year Men Women Total 1998 211 58 269 2005 245 56 301 2010 283 75 358 2015 283 103 386 *Source: Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Michael P. Lawlor, under-secretary for justice policy in the state Office of Policy and Management, who chairs the advisory commission, recalled that the lottery shooter, who killed four supervisors and himself, had a history of mental health issues and a suicide attempt, but had broken no laws.

At the time of the shooting, Lawlor was the House chairman of the legislative committee that drafted the risk-warrant seizure law. Lawlor said that the report shows that the 1999 bill was a good example of a bipartisan compromise. “I think that time tells us that the balance was, in fact, struck,” he said.

Indiana and California have adopted similar laws, which the researchers are also monitoring through court records, interviews, public-health files, and other public records.

Swanson and co-author Michael Norko, director of the forensic services division in the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, said that of the 34,000 firearms-related deaths in the nation annually, two-thirds of them are suicides.

The report notes that eight other states are considering similar gun-safety measures, in which courts can order the removal of firearms if a person is deemed to be a risk for violence and served with a warrant. The civil order does not result in criminal records. Washington State voters also adopted the law, which takes effect in December.

The study showed that of the 762 people, 21 eventually committed suicide, a rate 40 times higher than the suicide rate in the general population. Fifteen people used methods other than firearms; and six used guns.

“This is a piece in the puzzle of gun-violence prevention policy,” Swanson told the panel, which includes representatives from law enforcement, courts, the Department of Correction and related agencies. “This law is really identifying a high-risk group of people. Lethal means restriction, particularly with respect to firearms when people are inclined to harm themselves is a very important public-health opportunity. ”

kdixon@ctpost.com;