Firearms & Mental Health

California Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) license classes are required to include one hour of mental health training. This free 60 minute video is designed to fulfill that requirement by teaching firearm owners how to recognize warning signs of mental health crises and how to help keep someone in crisis safe while connecting them to the resources they need to feel better.

The video consists of a 30 minute presentation about mental health and firearms, followed by four examples of people who are having a difficult time and questions about how to help ensure their safety. This course was developed with input from CCW instructors, mental health professionals, and public health educators and is taught by Dr. Amy Barnhorst, a psychiatrist at UC Davis.

Owning a firearm comes with responsibilities and it comes with risks. Firearm owners are stewards of safety – most own guns to protect themselves and their families. And protecting them means keeping them safe from more than just accident or attack.

Mental health struggles and mental illness are common, with one in five Americans experiencing a mental health disorder in any given year. Only about half of them receive the services they need.

When someone is in a mental health crisis, having a firearm around can make a bad situation turn deadly. If someone is at risk of suicide, a handgun greatly increases the odds that any attempt they make will be fatal. In a domestic violence situation, a woman is five times more likely to be killed if her partner has access to a firearm.

You can protect your friends and family by being aware of crisis warning signs, and being stewards of safety and mental health. As a responsible firearm owner, you can learn to recognize someone who is in a crisis and help put time and space between them and their firearms until they’re better – so if they make a bad decision, it’s not as likely to be a permanent one.

Responsible firearm owners have an important role to play in suicide and violence prevention. You can look out for yourself, your family, and your community and help keep everyone safe during times of crisis. Together, we can protect our family, our friends, and our freedom.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the New Hampshire Firearm Safety Coalition and Means Matter.