SB676 & HB659 Firearm Safety – Storage Requirements and Youth Suicide Prevention (Jaelynn’s Law)

SB676

Sponsors: Senator Smith & Beidle

Committee: Judicial Proceedings

Synopsis: Altering a certain provision relating to the storage of firearms and ammunition in a location that can be accessed by an unsupervised minor; and requiring the Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services to develop a youth suicide prevention and firearm safe storage guide, with recommendations from a stakeholder committee.

Hearing: 3/15 at 1pm

Link to Bill

TraumaNet’s Position: Support

HB659

Sponsors: Delegates Stein, Bartlett, & Pena-Melnyk

Committee: Judiciary

Hearing: 2/23 at 1pm

Link to Bill

TraumaNet’s Position: Support

Testimony by Dr. Farheen Qurashi

To Whom It May Concern:
Firstly, thank you for reviewing my testimony today. I am a trauma surgeon here in the state of Maryland. I am here representing myself personally, as well as Maryland TraumaNet, for which I am an executive leader. I am writing today to support HB659, also known as Jaelynn’s Law.
As I’m sure you can guess, I have unfortunately cared for countless patients that have gained access to a firearm one way or another. Many other physicians and I have cared for patients in the aftermath of self-harm, or injury or death to others at the hands of firearms used inappropriately, by those who should not have access to them. I want to focus briefly today on a less-discussed aspect of firearm injury – youth suicide. Almost 20% of the fatalities at my trauma center are due to suicide. I will never forget the phone call I made several years ago to the mother of a young patient who had fatally shot himself in the head. I called her and started “We don’t yet know exactly what happened…” She interrupted and said, “Oh, I do.” She proceeded to tell me that her child had been struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide. They had been working toward treatment, but her child had done all he could to go find a firearm, and then suffered suicide. It was devastating, and heartbreaking.
As a doctor, a mother, and an advocate, I know that we as adults have a responsibility to keep children safe. In 2015, 42% of fatalities in youths aged 13 to 17 in the U.S. were due to a firearm. 1 Unfortunately, some estimates indicate that more than 50% of gun owners do not engage in safe storage practices, and about 50% of those with children under 18 store guns safely. 2 3 We know that in Baltimore City alone, children have suffered suicide from firearms. 4 Laws to encourage and educate on safe firearm storage and youth suicide can decrease the rate of firearm-inflicted youth suicide. 5
I thank you all for engaging on this critical, though difficult, topic. I hope you all can join me and others in supporting this vital bill to protect children and patients, provide resources and education, and support common-sense safe storage practices for firearms.
Sincerely,
Dr. Farheen Qurashi, MD, FACS
Trauma Surgeon
Legislative Committee Co-Chair, Maryland TraumaNet
Board Member, Doctors for America

1. WISQARS (web-based injury statistics query and reporting system)|Injury Center|CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html Web site. https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html. Updated 2021. Accessed Feb 21, 2022.
2. Crifasi CK, Doucette ML, McGinty EE, Webster DW, Barry CL. Storage practices of US gun owners in 2016. American journal of public health (1971). 2018;108(4):532-537. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29470124. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304262.
3. Arellano J, Health, JH Bloomberg School of Public. Safe gun storage. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Web site. https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-gun-violence-prevention-and-policy/research/safe-gun-storage/. Accessed Feb 21, 2022.
4. CHILD FATALITIES IN BALTIMORE CITY, 2016-2020: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTION A report of the baltimore city child fatality review team. . 2021.
5. Webster DW, Vernick JS, Zeoli AM, Manganello JA. Association between youth-focused firearm laws and youth suicides. JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association. 2004;292(5):594-601. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.292.5.594. doi: 10.1001/jama.292.5.594.