Kansas Rep. Jarrod Ousley and Missouri Rep. Patty Lewis are introducing bills that would let people voluntarily exclude themselves from gun sales. Experts say such laws save lives.
Donna Nathan loved two-stepping and The Beatles. The radio was always on at her house.
That love of music easily translated to dancing in parades. Nathan and her daughter, Katrina Brees, even worked together at a studio making sculptures for Mardi Gras parades.
"She was the type of person that would find some sick animal outside and bring it in and nurse it back to health and find it a home," Brees said.
But Nathan was suicidal. That meant three stays at a psychiatric hospital and working through medications and their various side effects. Nathan's partner even quit his job to spend more time at home to support her.
But one day in 2018, Nathan searched the internet for a gun store near New Orleans. She bought a weapon and a box of ammo and killed herself.
"She did everything she could to keep her(self) safe," Brees said. "But we live in a place where there's gun stores open very close to us, and what she wasn't able to do was to prevent herself from an impulsive gun purchase."
Brees now dedicates her life to trying to stop gun suicides. She's talking to lawmakers about passing Donna's Law. It's a voluntary self-exclusion from gun ownership. That idea is picking up some steam in both Kansas and Missouri. Neither state has passed its own version of the law, but it has been introduced in both state legislatures and is expected to come up again in 2025.
Only four states have a Donna's Law: Virginia, Washington, Delaware, and Utah.
Kansas Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat, introduced a self-exclusion bill in 2023. Missouri Rep. Patty Lewis, a Kansas City Democrat, also introduced a similar bill.
In Kansas, people would apply in writing to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) to be put on the list. Someone could also apply to the KBI in writing to get themselves off the list, which under the 2023 proposal would take 21 days before that person is again eligible to buy a gun.
The goal of the bill is "to reach people in a moment of clarity" so they couldn't make any rash decisions when they are in crisis.
"If you can just buy time for somebody experiencing crisis," he said, "it can be life-saving."
A Call for Legislative Action
Works with Brees on passing Donna's Law.
Over 20 states considering similar bills.
Emphasizes importance due high lethality rate associated with guns. A suicidal crisis can last hours or days but passes; keeping guns away during this period saves lives as guns result more often lethal outcomes compared other methods like pills (85% vs 5%).
A study found that 24% who survived suicide attempts only spent five minutes thinking about it beforehand; having access increased risk significantly by buying one increases suicide risk by fifty-seven times!
This underscores why Vars advocates preventing easy firearm acquisition during crises because "literally putting time distance between individuals firearms saves lives."
Opposition & Concerns
Kansas hasn't seen specific opposition yet since discussions haven't taken place amongst key lawmakers though currently resides within House Federal State Affairs Committee whose chair changed post-2022 election cycle hopes new leadership facilitates progress forward!