Fourth Circuits sides with county in suicide prevention pamphlet dispute

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — The Fourth Circuit denied relief to gun sellers Tuesday when it found mandatory suicide prevention pamphlets are not only factual but also work to further government interest.

“We conclude that the pamphlet does not reach as far as the plaintiffs maintain,” U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Niemeyer, a George H. W. Bush appointee, wrote.

“Any reasonable reader would understand from the pamphlet that it only gives the message that because firearms are the leading means by which suicide is committed, firearms should be stored safely to reduce suicides by firearms.”

A group of gun dealers, along with the gun rights organization Marland Shall Issue, sued Anne Arundel County in Maryland over a 2022 ordinance that required the Department of Health to distribute a pamphlet and flyer about the risk of suicide, which promoted nonviolent conflict resolution, to gun dealers — and directed the sellers to display the literature in their stores and to provide copies to customers buying guns or ammunition.

The gun dealers claimed the ordinance violated their First Amendment rights, as it compelled them to engage in speech that was contrary to their interests. They claim the county’s true intention is to demonize guns rather than prevent suicides.

The lower court, and now the Fourth Circuit, held that as a matter of law, the literature identifies the risk that a firearm, like other items, could be used by a person contemplating suicide. It focuses its message on informing gun owners how to store their firearms safely.

“I’m gratified the court has again ruled in favor of Anne Arundel County’s ordinance requiring gun stores to give customers information on suicide prevention, conflict resolution, and mental health resources when they purchase a firearm or ammunition,” Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a press release. “Ensuring gun owners are aware of accessible mental health and suicide prevention services is a critical step in reducing gun deaths and saving lives.”

The literature does not explicitly label guns as a cause of suicide, but the sellers argue that the county’s literature is preventing purchases. The National Shooting Sports Foundation and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention collaborated to create the suicide prevention pamphlet.

“We do not read it to suggest to firearm purchasers that firearms should not be purchased because doing so causes suicide,” Niemeyer wrote in the 23-page opinion. “Rather, the pamphlet is more in line with other similar safety warnings — widely applicable and accepted — that gun owners should store guns safely, especially to prevent misuse and child access.”

The suicide prevention pamphlet states that people with access to lethal means, including firearms and drugs, are at greater risk of suicide. The pamphlet also says that by keeping secure firearm storage in mind, gun owners can help reduce the number of suicides involving firearms.

Niemeyer told attorneys representing the sellers at oral argument that the pamphlets aren’t discouraging gun ownership, and said claiming the documents assert gun ownership will cause suicide is false.

“It doesn’t discourage the purchase of a gun,” the Bush appointee said. “You keep wanting to say it causes it, and they don’t make that message. What they suggest is the primary means of suicide is a firearm."

Attorney Mark Pennak, representing the gun rights organization and sellers, said that the panel got Tuesday’s decision “profoundly” wrong, especially the court’s determination that the literature constitutes commercial speech.

“A correlation doesn’t prove anything,” Pennak said in an interview. “Sickness and hospitals are correlated because you’d find an awful lot of sick people in the hospital. But no one would intelligently say that hospitals are the cause of sickness.”

Suicides accounted for the majority of firearm deaths in 2021, according to the Pew Research Center. Suicide has been on the rise in recent years, with roughly 48,000 Americans taking their own lives annually. An estimated 12.3 million adults seriously thought about suicide in 2021, 3.5 million made a plan and 1.7 million attempted suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Firearms are the most common suicide method, accounting for 55% of suicides, over twice as many as the next leading method of suffocation.

“If guns are the primary means of suicide and if guns are not accessible to persons with suicidal ideation, then the number of suicides would likely decline,” Niemeyer wrote. “The pamphlet is thus factual and therefore, in this case, also uncontroversial."

The conflict resolution flyer lists resources available for conflict resolution services. The ordinance came after the county saw five people die in a 2018 mass shooting at the Capital Gazette Newsroom in Annapolis.

“Judge Niemeyer’s thoughtful ruling is a major victory for gun safety and common sense,” said Will Havemann of Hogan Lovells, who argued the case in the Fourth Circuit.

“As Judge Niemeyer explains, the ordinance does not discourage gun ownership, but instead provides accurate information and best practices to help Anne Arundel County residents use guns safely.”

The Anne Arundel County executive issued an order following the shooting, creating a task force to address how the county could use its public health system to reduce gun violence. The task force found suicide to be a public health crisis after looking at data from 2013 to 2017 that showed suicide accounting for 67% of gun deaths in the county, for a total of 209 deaths.

Pennak said his clients plan on seeking further review.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at  1-800-273-8255  (TALK). Visit  SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources  for a list of additional resources.