American Legion National Commander Daniel Seehafer shakes hands with Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, before a joint Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs committees hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Sen. Angus King on Wednesday sought support from the American Legion to provide lock-and-key storage at thousands of the organization’s posts across the U.S. for veterans to store their firearms safely.
“Would you consider working with…posts across the country to offer safe storage for firearms for veterans?” King, I-Maine, asked American Legion national commander Daniel Seehafer at a joint hearing of the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs committees that examined ways to assist veterans at risk of suicide.
Describing American Legion posts as “safe spaces for our veterans,” King said former service members might feel comfortable reaching out to their local American Legion posts — especially in times of duress — to hold and lock up their guns.
An American Legion post recently fielded such a request for safe gun storage from a member struggling with mental health problems, Seehafer told the senator.
“[The veteran] reached out and called who he trusted – a fellow legionnaire in his community – and said, ‘It is OK to take my weapons.’ This is exactly what we are talking about here,” Seehafer said.
Seehafer did not explain how the American Legion post handled the specific request but said, “I’ll be honest. It did raise some eyebrows.”
But he also told King and other lawmakers that the American Legion would look forward to working with the committee on the initiative.
There are about 12,000 American Legion posts in cities and towns across the nation, he said.
“The American Legion is a trusted resource and would embrace this idea,” Seehafer said. The posts already have in place regular “buddy checks” that involve legionnaires informally calling and asking one another about their welfare.
American Legion National Chaplain Frank Carr, center, leads a group in prayer before a joint House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Seehafer said stress and depression contribute to suicide risks. He testified a veteran is 50% more likely to take his or her own life than a person who has never served in the military.
His testimony focused on easing personal hardships and improving the “quality of life” for veterans and active-duty service members. Those recommendations extend to updating barracks, providing housing assistance and ensuring timely access to mental health care.
Seehafer said more than 135,000 veterans have died by suicide since 9/11, which is “more than all the American deaths incurred during the entire Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War and the Global War on Terrorism combined.”
Statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs show veterans account for one in five adult firearm suicides. The figures are based on the VA’s 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, which was released in December.
King sent a letter in September 2023 to VA Secretary Denis McDonough requesting the VA set aside funding for regional VA offices to provide veterans with gun safety locks and lock boxes to store firearms.
The VA followed up by providing more than 20,000 cable gun locks at regional offices since then, according to Terrence Hayes, VA press secretary.
“Gun locks are distributed at outreach events and are also available at local VA medical centers,” he said.
Seehafer urged lawmakers to put aside partisan differences to work toward common goals.
“Veterans’ issues have traditionally unified Congress because in your hearts we know you love this country and truly wish to serve veterans, just as veterans served America,” he said.
