Milwaukee gun lock giveaway aims to save lives

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and Milwaukee's Behavioral Health Services wanted to use this time to stress the importance of gun safety and its relation to suicide rates. 

To do so, they handed out gun locks and other safety resources to gun owners in the area. 

Research shows that having a gun at home raises the risk of death by suicide by 300%. 

"In addition to the gun locks that we have, we also have Narcan, we have a lot of information about our different Milwaukee County services and programs that we are offering," said Michael Maletis with Milwaukee Behavioral Health Services. 

Public awareness of the link between firearms and suicide risk remains low with only 15% of U.S. adults recognizing the issue. 

Research does show that safe firearm storage practices, such as storing guns locked and unloaded, are proven to reduce impulsive suicidal acts.