Vote no on Public Measure No. 1

Vote no on Public Measure No. 1! Here’s why.

This is National Suicide Prevention Month. Over 500 Iowans kill themselves every year. Iowa’s suicide rate is increasing at nearly twice the national average. As a psychiatrist I have cared for suicidal patients. You must act decisively to protect them from self-harm. One action is to remove guns from the home. This straightforward action saves lives.

Guns are lethal. Over 90 percent of suicide attempts made with guns are completed. Over 200 of Iowa suicides each year are gun-related. Some states have red flag laws that allow for removal of guns for harm reduction purposes. Iowa does not. Like most other states, Iowa law allows involuntary hospitalization to protect someone from self-harm. Yet Iowa law does not have any provision to temporarily remove guns to prevent someone from shooting themselves!

Public Measure No. 1, supported by the NRA, proposes to amend the state constitution with wording that will make it very difficult to pass red flag laws that can help families keep a suicidal loved one safe. Let’s not approve an unnecessary amendment that ties the hands of legislators trying to pass common sense gun safety laws.

Please vote NO on Public Measure No. 1.

Paul Pomrehn

Iowa City