Groups across the country including in Pennsylvania are encouraging gun owners to store their guns at a gun shop while they are suffering a mental health crisis, writes Zusha Elinson for The Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there were about 27,000 gun suicides in 2022.

Nonprofit Hold My Guns in Berks County and other groups across the country have been recruiting gun dealers who are willing to store guns for gun owners who are struggling with suicidal thoughts.

The idea is that a gun owner can store their guns for a time at a gun store with no questions asked and no fear of losing their guns.

There are similar groups in Louisiana, Colorado, and Washington state.

“A lot of gun owners are afraid to speak up if there’s a mental health crisis in the home,” said Sarah Joy Albrecht, founder of Hold My Guns.

“Gun shops are a place that gun owners trust — they know that their rights matter to the people running the gun shop.”

Hold My Gun last year worked with eight gun shops around the country. More than 118 firearms were stored during the year.

If you are in crisis, dial or text 988 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Read more about Hold My Guns in The Wall Street Journal.

________________