Shared Stories

I recently read the article that Sandra Richardson wrote to your group, and it resonated with the situation I’m experiencing now; I want to share my story. My name is Isaac, and I am a veteran whose rights were stripped away without due processes, like Ms. Richardson’s…

“I am writing to inform people not just about my experience, but about some steps they might take if they find themselves in the same situation. Provider and facility names have been left out of my story because they aren’t relevant. The NY SAFE Act allows this to happen to anyone, anywhere in New York State.”

“I have long said that there needs to be more of an understanding between mental health and the right to keep your firearms, we just did not know where to turn.”

“I wanted to share my experience with you on this Suicide Prevention Day. I used to be a firearms instructor. It was through my training and work with local law enforcement and domestic violence resources that I realized I was living in a domestic violence situation.”

Note: This story contains mention of suicide. “… The weight of it all is suffocating today. I love guns, and I love people. There is no dichotomy by those statements. The conversation about mental health and gun safety is not anti-American.”