Lock up your guns. It could prevent a suicide.

# The core problem Last year in Vermont 140 people died by suicide. Nearly two-thirds of those deaths involved a firearm. The presence of a gun in a moment of crisis greatly increases the chance a suicidal impulse becomes fatal because firearms are highly lethal and require little planning.

# Practical steps that change the odds Two straightforward approaches can reduce those deaths: secure storage and temporary removal of access through an Extreme Risk Protection Order.

Secure storage means keeping firearms locked in a sturdy gun safe or locked chest, or using a trigger or cable lock. Those options physically delay or block immediate access. Public libraries, police departments and county sheriff's offices in Vermont offer free gun locks.

# Why these measures matter right now

# How to act

• If you own firearms, adopt a secure storage practice that fits your household: a safe, locked chest, or a trigger/cable lock. Use available local resources to obtain free locks.
• If you worry someone you know is in acute crisis and at risk of using a firearm to harm themselves or others, consider contacting mental health professionals, teachers, counselors, clergy or law enforcement for immediate help.
• Family members, clinicians or police can petition for an ERPO to temporarily remove firearm access while the person gets help.

# What this does and doesn't do These steps are not about long-term punishment or criminal records. ERPOs are temporary civil orders reviewed by a judge, and they do not automatically create criminal records. Secure storage is a preventive safety practice used to reduce accidents, theft and suicide risk. Neither approach guarantees prevention in every case, but both reduce immediate lethality and buy time for intervention.

# Bottom line Because a large share of Vermont suicides involve firearms and many young people report easy access at home, simple, practical steps can lower risk. Locking firearms or using an ERPO when someone is in crisis are ways to reduce immediate access to lethal means and increase the chance that a person in distress will get help and survive.