74: The Trevor Project on LGBTQ Youth, Guns, and the Risk of Suicide

Gun violence has taken an enormous toll on the LGBTQ community. According to CDC data, nearly two-thirds of firearm deaths in the U.S. are suicides. For those using a gun, 90 percent of suicide attempts are fatal, and data shows that this has particular impact for the transgender and adolescent members of the LGBTQ community. According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, 40% of transgender people report having attempted suicide in their lifetime, nearly nine times the national average. Furthermore, one-third of LGBTQ youth report having contemplated suicide, nearly three times the national average.

To discuss the risk firearms and suicide play to LGBTQ youth, host JJ is joined by Kelly Sampson, legal counsel at Brady, and Casey Pick, Esq. Senior Fellow for Advocacy and Government Affairs at the Trevor Project.

You can call the Trevor Lifeline anytime at 1-866-488-7386.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Get Help Now (the Trevor Project)
• Preventing Suicide Toolkit (the Trevor Project)
• End Family Fire (Brady)
• Mental Health and Safe Gun Storage (Brady)
• Firearms Laws and Statewide Suicide Rates (Suicide Prevention Resource Center)

For more information on Brady, follow us on social media @Bradybuzz or visit our website at bradyunited.org.

Full transcripts and bibliographies of this episode are available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

Right now, RBB listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a 2 year plan with NordVPN by clicking this link!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. 
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells for their long-standing legal support 
℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Transcript

JJ Janflone: 0:09

Hey everybody, this is the legal disclaimer where I tell you the views, thoughts and opinions shared on this podcast blog solely to our guests and our hosts and not necessarily Brady or Brady's affiliates. Please note, this podcast contains discussions of violence that some people may find disturbing. It's okay, we find it disturbing too. Welcome back everyone to Red, Blue and Brady. As Pride month draws to a close, we want to draw attention to one of the ways in which gun violence impacts those under 25 who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning aka LGBTQ. LGBTQ youth seriously contemplate suicide, at almost three times the rate of self-identified heterosexual youth, and many turn to firearms. To talk about this and how to protect the people in our lives, Brady's Kelly Sampson and I are joined by Casey Pick, Esq., the Senior Fellow for Advocacy and Government Affairs at the Trevor Project. Then, in our "unbelievable but" segment, I'm talking about how even experienced gun owners can make mistakes. Finally, in our news, wrap up, I'm covering everything from the importance of _____ to the Stonewall riots. Hey Casey, Kelly, it's great to have you both on I'm gonna go ahead and jump right in by having you to introduce yourself.

Kelly Sampson: 1:39

Hi everyone, my name is Kelly. I'm an attorney here at Brady, where I focus on constitutional issues, our legal alliance, and racial justice issues.

Casey Pick: 1:47

And my name is Casey Pick. I'm the Senior Fellow for Advocacy and Government Affairs at the Trevor Project, and my pronouns are she/her/hers.

JJ Janflone: 1:54

Yeah, thank you for sharing your pronouns. That's something, we do it in the written form on this podcast, but we don't do it when we speak. And we maybe, I think we should, we should probably start doing that. It's a good habit to get into.

Casey Pick: 2:05

Yeah, it's just a habit at this point. It's really become a pattern.

JJ Janflone: 2:09

Well, I was wondering to, sort of, start off Casey, if you're comfortable, if you could tell our listeners a little bit about the Trevor Project.

Casey Pick: 2:17

Sure. The Trevor Project is the world's largest provider of suicide prevention and Crisis Intervention Services directed towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth. We've been around for about 21 years. And we provide services through a 24/7 telephone Lifeline, online text and chat services. We also host the world's largest safespace social networking site directed towards LGBTQ youth, and havedepartments focusing on advocacy, education and research.

Kelly Sampson: 2:50

And I mean, one of the reasons why we're having this conversation today is because we know that LGBTQ youth are already at high-risk, and many report being harmed or threatened. For example, there were 52 reports of anti-LGBT homicides in 2017, and those are just the ones that we know about. And guns were used and 59 percent of those; and LGBTQ students are almost twice as likely as their heterosexual peers to be injured or threatened with a weapon at school. So could you talk a little bit about what is driving so many of these risk factors?

Casey Pick: 3:24

Certainly. And I'd very much appreciate that tou started this by saying that those are only the 52 homicides that we're aware of. One of the great weaknesses, is our nation's data collection systems, with regards to sexual orientation and gender identity. We just rarely ask, when somebody does a violence, whether that be a homicide or suicide, what was their sexual orientation? What was their gender identity? And lacking that knowledge makes it really hard to track just how much violence our community is experiencing. That said, you talked about the likelihood, the increased likelihood of LGBTQ youth to be threatened, that is consistent with the data that we've seen, where we know that one-in-10 LGBT students reported not attending school because of safety concerns, or a third of all LGBT youth are bullied at school and are twice as likely to be bullied online, as their peers. So that level of bullying is very high, even more broadly, to be increased likelihood of the LGBT community to be the victim of violent crime or to be associated with violent crime this way, you have to look at some of the intersections with that identity. Oh, it isn't just being LGBTQ. It's also that these communities are at drastically higher rates of experiencing unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and a lot of these factors weigh in when you consider 'Are they more likely to be subjected to violence?' And of course, that's the ongoing reality of discrimination and hate crimes, where hate crimes on the basis of someone's sexual orientation or gender identity are one of the highest levels of classifications to be subjected to hate crimes. So even though we've experienced significant improvements, in terms of public acceptance and in legal progress, we are still living in a world where discrimination is very real. And its costs -- in terms of lives -- are tragic.

JJ Janflone: 5:23

Yeah, I think it's one of the things where you look at these statistics, and it's horrifying to see the number of young people. And I mean, we say teens, but like a lot of times the statistics include ages 10 to 25. So, and I'm old enough now that I can like refer to a 10-year-old as like, that's a baby.

Casey Pick: 5:42

Yes, absolutely.

JJ Janflone: 5:43

You know, these are these are very, for the most part, very, very young people. And you look at the numbers that are reported, and they're horrifying, and then you realize that that's probably actually a drop in the ocean, when you compare it to what the actual numbers probably are. And I'm just wondering if we can talk a little bit too, about what sort of the unique situation of the world in June, right now, where we have people who are dealing with Coronavirus, people who are dealing with now massive economic downfall. And people who are dealing with a lot of tensions brought about by all of the the protests related to police brutality, and racism. And so I'm wondering if we can sort of talk about all these intersections happening at once, that LGBTQ teens are in the middle of.

Casey Pick: 6:29

Absolutely, the Trevor Project back in March, was able to move very quickly to take our resources remote, because we saw that we would be in a situation of social distancing. And because of that, we didn't skip a beat when it came to being there for the LGBTQ youth reaching out to us in crisis, which is a really good thing, because our numbers have increased throughout the duration of the COVID pandemic liking, at times, to twice our average from last year, at this time of year. So we're hearing very commonly from youth, who are talking about COVID as a source of concern. And, just taking just that piece of it for the moment, because of COVID, because of social distancing, you have LGBTQ youth experiencing that as social isolation. They are feeling it as something that cuts them off from a lot of their support structure. So perhaps a lot of these youth were finding their support structure in their classmates, or in a GSA at their school, and now because they had to go home from school, they lost track of that. You may have LGBTQ youth who now find themselves in their homes, with families who are not accepting. Perhaps these are families who did not know about a youth's identity, perhaps these are families that refuse to acknowledge a transgender youth's name and pronouns correctly, and all of that can increase your amount of stress that you're feeling. Also LGBTQ youth, several of them I already mentioned, there's the issue of homelessness and housing instability. So some of LGBT youth, who worked at home from college campuses, didn't have a home to go back to, and we're trying to figure out where do they then go, if they're not living in the dorms. So you have that issue of losing their source of stability, finding themselves in more difficult spaces. And then also the same concern, that anybody in our nation is feeling right now, for their own personal health, or their financial stability, whether or not they're gonna be able to keep their jobs, or the stress that comes with having lost a job. So you're feeling all of that strain. And then let's especially look intersectionally, at LGBTQ young people, who are also people of color. And so they are, perhaps feeling even more extreme version of the financial instability and the housing instability that LGBTQ youth, in general, were feeling. And now you're seeing these increased tensions, and these increased, just the visuals of watching the homicide of George Floyd, that is traumatizing all by itself. And then having that become not a subject of common condemnation and something that the community unites around as being wrong, but rather being a source of debate. That is incredibly stressful, and only just piling on the strain to communities that already are feeling a lack of resources, or a lack of access to mental health care.

Kelly Sampson: 9:30

The point you made about all the various intersectionalities that kind of come down to bear on LGBTQ youth, you know, putting them in harm's way. That gets to another major concern, which is on suicide. And can we talk a little bit about why -- and I know you touched on it in many ways with what you've already discussed -- but why suicide is the second leading cause of death among LGBTQ people ages 10 to 24?

Unknown: 9:57

Well, I would note that it's the second leading cause of death for all people in that age bracket. But for LGBTQ youth, they are more than four times as likely than their straight or cisgender peers to have seriously considered suicide, to have a suicide plan in place, or to have made an attempt. So that sheer disparity there, results in some tragic outcomes. As to why, part of it is the minority stress of constantly being subject to microaggressions and small forms of discrimination or very large forms of discrimination. Again, if you are that much more likely to be threatened with a firearm at your school, then it is a tremendous source of stress. I would also note that while suicide is of course, it's multifactorial, we'd like to say, which is just a fancy word for there's rarely any one single cause you can point to and say 'this cause that death by suicide.' It is, there are many things that will weigh in and many factors. But unfortunately, for LGBTQ youth, too often, many of those factors are cutting against them, and even in things that should be protected. For example, in the general population research shows us that being a part of a religious or faith community is usually protective for suicide, meaning that it helps to reduce your likelihood of having a suicide attempt. But our research shows, in a study that we released in April, that for LGBTQ youth, that protective factor isn't there. So not only are you in a place where you're at greater risk of things that we know contribute to likelihood of suicidality, like homelessness, like lack of access to mental health care, so you're at greater risk of these things, and factors that should be protective, like being part of a faith community, sometimes just aren't. That said, I really do want to reiterate that LGBTQ youth are incredibly resilient and when given the chance to be accepted as who they are, and be loved by, at least somebody in their community, they have the ability to survive and thrive. So at the Trevor Project, we will call out two different statistics fairly commonly. One is that we estimate that 1.8 million LGBTQ youth could benefit from our services in a given year, meaning they are experiencing crisis. But we also know that just the presence of just one supportive adults in an LGBTQ person's life, can reduce their likelihood to attempt suicide by 40%.

Kelly Sampson: 12:35

That's amazing.

JJ Janflone: 12:36

Well and I think that that's so important. Because again, you know, like we talk about these really scary statistics, and one of the ones that I've come across -- I think, actually in information provided by the Trevor Project that I will link for all of our listeners --which is that, you know, when LGBTQ youth do make a suicide attempt, they're almost five times as likely to need medical treatment, as those of heterosexual youth. And I'm assuming that's because a lot of times suicide attempts are, to quote an individual who Amara Jones, who was just on our podcast last week, it's it's not wanting to die, it's wanting the pain to go away. So it, there might be an attempt, but it might not be at, to the degree where it needs medical intervention. But it looks like when it comes to LGBTQ youth, that's not the case, it looks like it's often common for them to take very drastic measures. And and that is very concerning, I think.

Casey Pick: 13:31

Very much so. I would especially look at the fact that LGBTQ youth are four times as likely to have a suicide plan. So the more planning goes into it, it is possible that that would correlate to greater degrees of harm, and needing of medical intervention. That said, this is very much an area where like the rest of LGBTQ issues, we really need more research. And we really need more data to understand not just that our youth are attempting suicide at greater rates, but why and how and what is contributing to it. And all of the those are areas where there's a lot of research to be done and I really encourage people in academia and people in governments to put some additional focus on this, because the need is real.

Kelly Sampson: 14:18

And I think that kind of goes to, you know, so many of the points that you've raised already, which is the ways in which society plays a real role in furthering all these nexuses of various forms of oppression. And one of them sounds like you know, research and really considering the best practices and causes, and ways to protect people's lives. And on that front, you know, one area we talk about a lot at Brady is the need for more research in terms of gun violence. And in 2016, we saw that nearly 60 percent of all firearm deaths were suicides, yet we don't talk a lot about LGBTQ youth and firearm suicides specifically. A lot of times we kind of focus on, you know, rural, older, white men. And so I was just wondering if we could unpack that link, in particular between firearms, suicide and LGBTQ youth?

Casey Pick: 15:09

Absolutely. We know that research related to the role of firearms and violent deaths is just critical to developing evidence-based prevention strategies aimed at ending suicide, including LGBT suicide. So as the Trevor Project, we strongly support allocating federal funds to further all suicide research, including research that focuses in on firearms as a lethal means. Because we do know, from what limited research there is out there, that an attempted suicide using a firearm will be 80 percent likely to contribute to a fatality. Compare that to attempted suicides with pills and medications that are more like 2 percent likely to contribute to a fatality. So responsibly, we really need better research into firearms, and their relationship to suicide, as part of this national crisis. How that specifically relates to sexual orientation and gender identity, it intersects with the issue I raised earlier, of our nation simply not collecting data based on LGBTQ status. So if we're going to do research into violent deaths, and improve our data collection in suicide, then we really do need to be asking the question. I've spoken with many death investigators, medical examiners, and coroners, they are ready to ask this question. They recognize that asking who somebody loved or how they identified is simply not the hardest question that is asked when somebody dies by suicide. And they recognize that we need to ask these questions, if we're going to save lives.

JJ Janflone: 16:48

Yeah, I think that that's a big thing, and one of the reasons that I was so excited to have you on, because I think the gun violence prevention movement necessarily hasn't been really great, I think, about expressly talking about suicide, although we've seen a lot of strides in that area. But we certainly haven't seen a lot of expressly talking about LGBTQ youth and firearm suicide. And I wonder if you have any thoughts on maybe you know, just why it hasn't been discussed as much as it probably should have been? And and what, sort of, GVP groups, gun violence prevention groups, can be doing better in this space.

Unknown: 17:28

I think sometimes when we're talking about suicide, we feel a tension. We feel like we're only going to get so much airtime to discuss this issue. And if we're limited in how much people will listen to us, then we better hit the lowest common denominator. But I think it may be a mistake to think that way, where we really need to be getting this message across to all communities. And when you're doing that, representation matters. So calling out what suicide looks like in communities of color, what suicide looks like in communities of minority faiths, and when it comes to sexual and gender minorities. This is about getting the data that we need to act, and telling the stories that people need to hear.

Kelly Sampson: 18:11

The way you phrase it, you know, feeling like well, you don't have enough airtime, until let's just go to the lowest common denominator, was so astute. And so many of the things that you've been talking about, you know, all these different intersections with homelessness, and bias, and lack of support, and economic issues, and racial issues that also intersect with LGBTQ identity, just show that, you know, if we, rather than focusing on what we perceive to be the path of least resistance, if we actually were to think holistically, it would raise the tide for everything. Because so many of the, you know, issues in society come down to bear on the most vulnerable people. And so I haven't really heard it put that way. But I love the idea of, instead of going for the lowest common denominator and what we perceive to be, I don't know, the least resistant path, to really challenge ourselves to move beyond that.

JJ Janflone: 19:06

Yeah, I think one of the things that's becoming increasingly obvious to people, is that their intersections, and everything. And if we're not being sort of holistic in our approaches, we're not actually going to solve a lot of the problems that are present.

Unknown: 19:21

The benefit of this is that it also brings us a lot of different voices, and it brings us a lot of different perspectives that maybe haven't been centered. So on something like suicide, or on something like gun violence, people have been working so hard at this for so long. I think there's a lot of value to bringing in fresh perspectives. And where these perspectives meet, maybe we get new ideas.

JJ Janflone: 19:43

And I think it's just remembering that when those new ideas come, we just need to be like, open to accepting them because that's a big part of it, too, right?

Casey Pick: 19:50

Oh, absolutely. I mean, we're all in this work, and we're invested in it, which means that we don't want to hear that something we've been committed to for a long time, maybe doesn't work for everybody. And that that's challenging to hear. But those challenges, I think, are what we're really being confronted by in our society today. And you can either get defensive, or you can see them as opportunities

JJ Janflone: 20:14

Well, and on the opportunity, end of things, I think like this is a really good intersection that I think we need to be more open to discussing, because we have just seen studies come out that say that there is a tie between, you know, the more gun ownership, there is in a state, the higher there is a rate of youth suicide-by-gun, in that state, just because of access to guns. And so I was wondering what your thoughts are on that. I don't know if you've had a chance to see that study or not. But also just you know, about the idea of what can we be doing to help prevent youth from having access to guns they shouldn't have from having access to things that can harm them, that they shouldn't have?

Casey Pick: 20:53

Certainly, at the Trevor Project, we focus primarily on reducing suicidality among LGBTQ youth, by promoting means safety, at the individual level, which means counseling families of youth in crisis to just reduce access to lethal means. And that includes not just guns, but knives and medications as well. So what we strongly need to encourage people who own those guns to do, is to engage in mean safety, and make sure that those guns are secured away, that they are secured unloaded, and to really take seriously what that means to prevent somebody getting their hands on a gun in a moment of crisis.

JJ Janflone: 21:39

Yeah and I mean, like, I think that that makes sense, right? And it seems like it's a very achievable process in terms of, you know, Brady has something called the 'Ask campaign,' which is simply you know, ask questions before your child goes over to another child's home, to make sure that they don't have access to an unlocked firearm, right and unlocked and loaded firearm. But I think it's, you know, what the Trevor Project is advocating for is sort of an ask program in its own right of just like checking in with your children, making sure that teens are being supported, youth are being supported, in all of the ways that they need to be. And so that might be making sure that your gun is locked up. But that seems like it also may be making sure that your kid has access to therapy and a safe space.

Casey Pick: 22:22

Absolutely. I mean, it's one of those things where, again, we do not believe that LGBTQ youth are innately more vulnerable to mental health challenges or suicidality. But they face so many challenges in our society. And for those parents who are aware that they have an LGBTQ child, perhaps they should put some additional thought into how they engage in means safety, and what they do with their firearm to make sure that it's secure. So just, it's part of broadening the conversation about suicide as a whole, that nobody likes to think about these topics. I work in this field, and I don't enjoy thinking about these topics. But we have to, and it's a matter of, I count among my friends and family, several responsible gun owners. And part of being responsible means taking care and thinking through what could happen in the future, and that includes protecting those that they love from possible suicide.

JJ Janflone: 23:24

Like and I, you know, just as a personal story, you know, as a teenager, my school had a rifle team. I was just talking the other day with a couple friends, that I forgot that were on it. So like we had a shooting club at my high school.

Kelly Sampson: 23:37

What?

JJ Janflone: 23:37

We did. I'm from a city in western Pennsylvania and that was like a thing that we had.

Casey Pick: 23:42

I got my start in LGBT work on working on marriage campaigns, ballot campaigns. And the first one I worked on was in 2009, in Maine, where we had an entire team of teenagers come over from the local school, and we needed them to be wearing a brightly colored vest, so that when they were going out knocking on doors that they could be visible on streets, they'd be brightly colored from their school hunting team.

JJ Janflone: 24:09

So like, yeah, I, and Kelly, Kelly knows this because Kelly has been a co-host with me for a long time and I just completely forgotten that this had existed. Which is shameful Kelly, because I was on that rifle team for about a week-and-a-half my sophomore year, and then I got mono. But I digress. Anyway, I didn't catch the mono from the gun. But I think you know, and maybe sometimes we don't realize this, but like teenagers have access to guns from a variety of places. Whether it's because they're in a state where it's legal for them to own, whether it's because they're hunters, maybe they're sport shooters, you know, their families own them. So I think just, sort of, being open and honest about these hard conversations. I think as you mentioned, Casey sometimes people don't, you know, even if we have the time to talk about suicide, I think a lot of people still view it as a taboo topic. So I think Just being open and honest about these conversations is really important.

Casey Pick: 25:03

Absolutely, and the same way that maybe parents don't always know all the different places that you would have access to a firearm, they often don't always know everything that their child may be struggling with. They may not know their child's sexual orientation or gender identity. So in that way, if a parent, if we're trying to raise the topic, and say, "it could be a real thing." Yes, gun suicide is real, it happens, and it could happen in your household. And the pushback that we consistently get is, "Well, that happens, but not with me, not in my family." But I hear that a lot with regards to just whether or not you have an LGBTQ child, and happy to inform you, you have a gay kid, maybe you should be taking these precautions.

JJ Janflone: 25:53

And I wonder if on that note, if we can talk a little bit more about like, what are some resources out there in preventing youth suicides, and just some of the, sort of, ripple effects that we see from teens, you know, that unfortunately, or from youth that we've lost. Because I think that that's another thing to focus on is that, and we talk about this all the time in gun violence prevention, when someone is lost to us, that is a loss that is not just of that individual. Those ripple effects are really wide-facing in the

Casey Pick: 26:24

We know that suicide contagion is a real thing and a community. real concern. Given how tight knit the LGBTQ youth communities are, and how much these youth tend to rely on chosen family and friends as a support structure, perhaps in ways greater than you would see in your straight cisgender youth, that a suicide within that community is felt incredibly deeply. So resources, of course, especially for LGBTQ youth, the Trevor Project is a resource. And you define crisis, if you need somebody to listen to you, contact us and we are there to hear, whether through text, chat, or telephone. We also have that peer support mechanism through Trevor space, which allows for a safe, moderated space for LGBTQ youth to talk to each other about whatever. Whether it be their fears of COVID, or what they saw on RuPaul's Drag Race, so they can talk to each other and have that as a support structure. More broadly, I'm encouraged by things like the expansion of Telehealth, and the availability of even apps, that will help you to calm down and to focus in on themselves and to engage in self-care. So even as it's harder to get into a physical space, or maybe it's too expensive to go to a paid therapist, we are seeing innovation in ways that people can care for each other, and for themselves. And then finally -- it's another one of the Trevor Project's main advocacy initiatives -- is encouraging schools and school districts to adopt model suicide prevention policies, so that a school will be able to better engage in suicide prevention, that the teachers and staff, who spend so much time with the students, will be able to know the signs, will know how to intervene, and in the event of a tragedy will know how to respond, without trying to make it up in that moment, so that you are using best practices, rather than maybe going down a path that could contribute to greater suicide contagion. So there are resources out there, whether it's the model policy for schools and school districts, or places like the Trevor Project, or Telehealth, to your local therapist, and all these are things that can help contribute to suicide prevention.

Kelly Sampson: 28:56

And I think so much of the information in the work that you're doing, I think really helps hopefully, create a future world that's different, too. And I keep, I've been thinking about a comment you made, ever since you said it. Which is how I think having one supportive adult can reduce the risk of suicide by, I think, 40 percent. And when you said that, it's like, oh, my gosh, it takes something, I don't know, a lot of times even, you know, when we talk about like legislation, and sometimes I think the sense people will get around something like suicide is it's just so personal. There's nothing you can do about it. And when you give a concrete item like that, it just makes it so clear that there are things that we can all do, to make sure people stay alive and live full, healthy lives.

Casey Pick: 29:38

And that's part of why we're here. It's part of why we share that message wherever we can. I mean, no, you wouldn't necessarily think the Trevor Project is going to go on a podcast, but I was ecstatic to get the ask because this is a different audience. There are different people listening to this who might not have heard of the Trevor Project ever before, but now will hopefully have the chance to hear how something they're passionate about, which is saving lives from gun violence, intersects with another issue that they may never have contemplated, which is the health and well-being of LGBTQ youth.

JJ Janflone: 30:14

Yeah and that's the same reason why we are super excited that you agreed to come on, you know, that people who are interested in the health and well-being of the LGBTQ community, specifically, the youth would say, "Oh, wait, I didn't think about the intersection here with gun violence. I really should have been." So before we have to let you go, Casey, I really want to ask: do you have any advice for those who are worried about any individuals in their lives or any, or any resources you could offer to our listeners?

Casey Pick: 30:41

The Trevor Project, we believe in just asking the question. So not beating around the bush, not using euphemisms, just asking, "Are you thinking about harming yourself? Are you thinking about killing yourself?" Because oftentimes, if that is something that has been going through a youth's mind, it will be a relief to be asked and to be seen. On the other side of it, people are often worried that that will introduce the idea of suicide to a teenager, and that is not the case. Asking about it directly does not increase the likelihood that somebody will attempt suicide. On the contrary, it allows you to open that dialogue, and it allows you to get people the help that they need. So if you are concerned that somebody may attempt to take their own life -- be brave-- ask. Beyond that, I would also just recommend folks go to TheTrevorProject.org where you can find a lot more resources about what the signs of suicide are, how to communicate with LGBTQ youth, and perhaps even, how you can volunteer to be a part of The Trevor Project.

JJ Janflone: 31:50

They should also sign up for Brady. Be both! You can be both Brady and Trevor at the same time. It's great.

Casey Pick: 31:55

We're doing it, it's great!

JJ Janflone: 31:57

It's a good time. And of course everything that you've mentioned, and more, I will link to in the description of this episode. And I just want to thank you again for coming on Casey and thank The Trevor Project for all the wonderful work that you do.

Casey Pick: 32:09

Bye, take care.

JJ Janflone: 32:15

On a lighter, but still horrifying note, a viral video is going around of a man accidentally shooting himself in the groin, moments after holstering his firearm. Submitted online, the clip starts with the man in question expertly loading a Glock 43. Having holstered the gun, the man walks over to a shelf, and then bends down to pick something up, when the gun suddenly goes off the loud bang. In the footage, the man is seen being jolted backwards as the bullet hits, and then he calls out for help with a few choice words. He clutches his groin and pain before he takes his belt off, and removes the guns magazine from inside his trousers. It later emerged that the bullet penetrated the man's groin in a through-and-through wound. He's made a full recovery, thank goodness. But remember, a loaded gun is dangerous even an experienced hands. Meanwhile, this week marks the 20th annual Asking Saves Kids"Ask Day," a day dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of unintentional shootings and unsecured guns in the home. What Ask Day does is it mobilizes every person, gun owners and non-gun owners alike, to prevent family fire. Ask Day started following the Million Mom March in 2000 and -- shameless plug -- for more information on that you should see our podcast. Ask Day encourages all parents, guardians and caretakers to have open conversations about guns in the home. While typically correlating with the start of summer when kids are out of school, the risk of unintentional shootings is particularly concerning this year, considering a surge in gun purchases in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and children spending more and more time in the home, or having to hop from house to house for child care. As parents and guardians ask family and friends about safety measures related to Coronavirus, or just general safety measures, Brady advocates that they also remember to ask about guns in the home and whether or not those guns are stored safely. And this is important because it could save a life. This week also marks the anniversary of the events at the Stonewall Inn in New York. The Stonewall Inn was a bar known as a beloved community spot, especially for members of the LGBTQ community that were experiencing homelessness. After midnight on a Friday night in June of 1969, The Stonewall Inn was packed, when a number of police officers entered the bar and attempted to arrest several patrons, something that was all too common in the 1960s. The police singled out individuals who they deemed as violating the state's gender appropriate clothing statute, a law that was primarily used to harass trans and gender non-conforming members of the community. As police began arresting those inside patrons who were fed up with the years of police harassment decided to fight back. Many follow the lead of trans and gender non-conforming women of color, including Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Accounts vary exactly over what happened that first night, but in the coming days protests in the area grew and included thousands. The frenzy of activism born on that first night at the Stonewall Inn, would eventually fuel LGBTQ rights movements across the country and abroad. The Stonewall riots were a pivotal moment within LGBTQ history. And Stonewall itself has held up as an example that change most often comes at the hands of mass movements, and what may be seen as radical acts in the face of an oppressive system. Oh look, now, it's an ad. With more than 10 years of experience, NordVPN is a leading VPN provider. NordVPN gives you a military grade protection online, and you can access all of your favorite sites without restriction. They never log your activity when using their servers, and you can always trust your privacy to them. As someone who has travelled quite a bit to countries or places with internet restrictions, I gotta say, I do love NordVPN. Right now, our listeners have an opportunity to get 70% off on a two-year plan, by clicking the link in the description of our episode. Thanks for listening. As always, Brady's life saving work in Congress, the courts and communities across the country is made possible thanks to you. For more information on Brady, or how to get involved in the fight against gun violence, please like and subscribe to the podcast. Get in touch with us at BradyUnited.org or on social at@Bradybuzz. Be brave and remember -- take action -- not sides.