Suicide prevention specialists will team up with gun retailers and range operators in four states to educate the public about suicide risks under a program that now has the support of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

NSSF is partnering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to distribute information about the link between guns and suicide and provide suicide-prevention resources to gun owners. The pilot program is being rolled out in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri and New Mexico, with the goal of expanding the program nationwide within two years.

Guns were used in nearly half of suicides in the U.S. in 2014, with suicides accounting for two-thirds of gun deaths that year, according to figures by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ninety percent of suicide attempts by firearm are fatal.

AFSP previously had launched an initiative called Project 2025 to reduce the nation's suicide rate by 20 percent by 2025. CEO Robert Gebbia said the NSSF would help meet that goal by reaching out to the firearms community.

"By joining forces with NSSF, we reach both firearm owners and sellers nationwide to inform and educate them about suicide prevention and firearms, and offer specific actions they can do to prevent suicide," Gebbia said.

NSSF CEO Steve Sanetti said the partnership with AFSP would build on the firearms industry's existing efforts to reduce gun accidents and prevent unauthorized access to firearms. http://bit.ly/2bzJHWI

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