By Dan Lynch
Memorial Day can be many things to many people: barbeques, mattress sales, or a chance to hang the American flag and demonstrate your patriotism. As a veteran, Memorial Day has always been a sacred holiday for me, one of remembrance and contemplation. I spend time thinking of all the soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen who gave the last full measure of devotion in service to our nation.
I also pause each Memorial Day to reflect on the military veterans who have died, and will die, by suicide — more each passing day.
Suicide is a complicated issue, and addressing the root causes is difficult and bespoke. What works for one person may not work for another. However, there is one universal truth: Guns are by far the most deadly form of lethal means used in a suicide attempt. That is not a political statement, it is a fact. It is also a statement about safety from a veteran and firearms instructor who knows what he’s talking about.
I served for more than 30 years, first enlisted in the Marine Corps and then as a Naval officer. I have lived most of my adult life around weapons, training, discipline, and responsibility. Today, I live in Maine, own guns, compete in shotgun sports, and instruct others in competitive shotgun shooting. I sit on the Train SMART Leadership Council and work as a Train SMART instructor because I believe deeply that responsible gun ownership is a learned skill, not a slogan.
And right now, we need to learn more.
According to the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund report, Those Who Serve, nearly 18 veterans die by suicide every day in America on average, and 13 of those veteran suicide deaths are by firearm. Almost three-quarters of veteran suicides involve guns, and veterans — despite being less than 7 percent of the adult U.S. population — represent roughly 20 percent of all adult firearm suicides.
That means veteran gun suicide is not a side issue in American gun violence, it is one of the central issues. More than 10 percent of all gun deaths in America are veteran firearm suicides. If we are serious about honoring veterans, we have to be serious about preventing those deaths, and thus we have to be serious about gun safety.
Here in Maine, that truth is especially hard to ignore. Maine is a proud gun-owning state, a rural state, and a state with many veterans. It is also a state where the overwhelming majority of gun deaths are suicides. In 2024, the Portland Press Herald reported that 92 percent of gun-related deaths in Maine were suicides.
That should stop us in our tracks.
When most people hear “gun violence,” they picture crime, or domestic violence, or a mass shooting — like we saw, tragically, in Lewiston. But overall in Maine, and in veteran communities across the country, the person most likely to be killed by a gun is the gun owner themself.
That is why secure storage matters. That is why training matters. That is why the way we talk about guns matters.
Veterans are more likely to own guns than non-veterans. Half of veterans report owning firearms, compared to 20 percent of non-veterans, and veterans are three times more likely than non-veterans to die by firearm suicide. This does not mean guns cause someone to become suicidal. It means that when a person enters a moment of crisis, easy access to a firearm can turn that moment into a death.
Anyone who has worn the uniform should understand this, as should any friend or family member of a veteran. In the military, weapons are never treated casually. Guns are tools in the military, and rely on training, safety, and accountability to keep ourselves and the troops around us safe. We also check each other, a habit that can’t stop when we take off the uniform.
Train SMART brings that same military seriousness to civilian firearm ownership and training. Created by veterans, it is designed for prospective gun owners, first-time gun owners, and experienced gun owners alike. And unlike traditional firearms instruction, Train SMART directly addresses suicide prevention as part of what it means to be a safe and responsible gun owner.
That matters because safety is not just muzzle awareness, nor marksmanship. Safety is not just knowing how to load, unload, clean, transport, and store a firearm. Real safety also means asking: What happens if I am not okay? What happens if someone in my home is in crisis? What is my plan if a friend, spouse, child, neighbor, or fellow veteran needs help? What happens when I need to put time and distance between my loved one and a gun?
Our suicide prevention materials — including this brochure — offer a useful way to think about this. It describes practical steps that can create time and space between a person in crisis and a firearm: secure in-home storage, giving keys or combinations to a trusted person, temporary out-of-home storage, and, in the most serious circumstances, emergency interventions.
Not every situation requires the same response. Not every person will accept the same kind of help. But the principle is simple: In a crisis, time and distance save lives.
That principle should be familiar to every veteran and every responsible gun owner.
If you own guns, the question is not whether you are a good shot. The question is whether your gun handling and storage practices are good enough. Are your guns unloaded and secured when they aren’t in use? Have you stored your ammunition separately? Does someone you trust know how to help if you enter into a crisis? Would you be willing to temporarily separate yourself from your firearms if it meant staying alive for your family?
Those are not signs of weakness. They are signs of discipline.
On Memorial Day, we remember those who died in service to this country. We speak their names, visit their graves, and fly our flags. We remind ourselves how much their lives mattered.
But remembrance must also make us responsible for the living.
Today, I am asking gun owners, veterans, families, and anyone who cares about those who served to think differently about gun safety. Learn more by taking a training course. Talk to the gun owners in your life about secure storage. Make a plan before the crisis comes.
Mostly, enjoy this Memorial Day by making sure those you care about will be here to enjoy many more to come.
Dan Lynch is a Train SMART Leadership Council member and instructor who served for over 35 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy. No component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this program.